Android 1-Reboot
by Supersaiyaninfinitygohan
Summary: Dr. Gero has long since passed, but his legacy lives on. With his creator gone and nothing left to stand in his way, how will the dreaded Android 1 adapt to this new world?
1. Birth

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball GT**

**Claimer: I own this plot and all my characters.**

**Chapter 1**

**Birth**

What is life? Can it be stored? Can it be created? How does it begin, and when does it truly end? Day to day, we walk the Earth and continue our existence without more than a second thought, our lives too caught up in other activities to examine the philosophy of our existence.

But this is not the case for all.

Some are born without even the slightest notion of what life is and what it consists of, having it ripped from them and replaced with nothing more than the willingness to follow the commands of one. This is the story of the original android created by the infamous Doctor Gero. A story of trials, tribulations, denial, acceptance and learning.

This is the story of Android 1.

Several years before the infamous Raditz landed on Earth, far away from regular civilization, Gero's lair was built into a mountain range on the outskirts of North City, having various access points throughout the area with metallic doors serving as entrances, each thick enough to survive a nuclear explosion, and then some. But there was one particular lab Gero accessed frequently, as it contained his most precious androids.

The main lab's entrance was rather simple to spot and access, assuming one knew the code. The first level contained one of Gero's more desperate projects: androids #17 and #18. The twins were currently in the middle of the most dangerous stage of an incurable, hereditary disease that had been passed down the Gero family line for generations.

The doctor had loved his grandchildren like his own offspring and had looked after the pair since their parents had passed away from the same disease, which seemed to worsen per generation, the old man only able to survive as long as he did thanks to some self-made medicine that he had taken early on in life. Though he felt the occasional pains as his own grandchildren did, they were comparable to a love tap when one considered the agony the twins were experiencing.

The twins were too far along for that now, not having taken the medicine earlier on due to being seemingly healthy. Their teenage, rebellious attitudes had them thinking they wouldn't fall prone to this disease.

Oh, how wrong they were.

Gero, being desperate to preserve their lives, did the only thing he could think of to save them: he turned them into cyborgs.

The first floor lab was also shared by Android #16. The hulking giant was meant to be a guardian for the pair, should anything - as far out as the possibility seemed - be too much for them to handle on their own.

The floor below the lab entrance was far more cluttered and cramped, containing things like prototype DNA Gatherers, miniature spy cameras, blueprints for projects and the like, mainly serving as a storage area than anything else.

But the final floor below that was one worth seeing. It was by far the largest of the project areas. The underground, circular chamber was somewhat gigantic, stretching the length and breadth of a house. The room itself, however, seemed unfinished, as only the floor and ceiling had coverings while the brown rock walls were almost bare and visibly cracked. The room was dark and seemed to have no source of light, save for twenty or so computers with data streaming across their dim screens, adding an eerie feeling to the musty lab.

The room was quiet as the computers did their work, churning and humming as they processed a few million terabytes each second, but one sound stood out above all. The sound seemed to be the huffing and puffing of an elderly gentleman coming from the centre of the room.

And, as it would happen, there was a man who would fit the description of elderly in the very centre of the room, leaning over a white coffin-shaped container. The old man seemed to stand at no more than five feet and seven inches with a large lab coat over his ancient body, Gero's pruned facial features contorting as he struggled to see in the dark while he twisted away with a red screwdriver, making a few last minute repairs.

The coffin was pure white and rectangular in shape, a small pink window the only access to the outside world for its user.

Meanwhile on the outside, many a person would be more than shocked to see the good doctor's current condition. His wrinkles appeared to have wrinkles, he was thin as a rake and pale as a ghost, looking like a monster from a horror film - a creature aged beyond its natural life cycle.

But a horror was far from what the real Gero truly was.

Despite his many years of service to the infamous Red Ribbon Army, creating their most dreadful weapons and devices, in truth, he was nothing more than a kindly old man who only wanted peace. Unfortunately, circumstances had forced him to take drastic measures against his morals, and just a few years into his service, the robotics engineer was knee-deep in orders to build machines for the sole purpose of killing Son Goku.

At first, the doctor dispelled the orders as jokes; as if a child could defeat an army! But after seeing footage, and almost having a first-hand encounter with the boy, Gero had begun to formulate a plan. Adding a few key weak points to his creations and exhausting the army's income on trivial inventions, leaving the soldiers with less food and consequently lower morals, the army was disbanded within a few months. This left Gero with substantial capital for his projects and offered him a chance to slip away unnoticed.

A chance to start over. A chance to fix everything. A chance to get back his-

"You summoned me Dr. Gero?" the doctor's reminiscing was suddenly interrupted by a voice almost identical to his own, apart from the tinny echo sound.

"Ah, yes, #20. I need you to make final preparations on 1's charging chamber. It should be ready in a few moments." In response, the stiff machine gave a large bow but remained silent, its arm at its sides.

Android 20 seemed to be an exact duplicate of Gero, apart from being seemingly ten years younger than his creator and wearing black and yellow ringleader attire. 20's appearance was by no means any vain product of the doctor, in fact, it was more for familiarity than anything else. Gero was well aware of his mortality and for how long he had given the grim reaper the slip, so he planned to soon move into a new, more robust body so he could finish his inventions and even watch as they developed.

20 had been programmed with minimal personality so as to make sure there would be no lingering feelings of regret once he transferred his consciousness with the aid of his medical android, #19.

"Almost done… there!" Gero declared as the coffin was finally sealed tight, ensuring nature and time wouldn't damage its contents. "I tell you, 20, this will be my greatest invention yet! Although he still needs to download the basics of his emotional and social spectrums, his power and abilities should be unsurpassed by anyone!" The doctor declared, slowly standing up with the assistance of his wooden cane.

"Yes, sir, the design is most impressive," 20 responded in his monotone voice, his expression as inert as it ever had been. Upon noticing this, the elderly doctor let out a soft chuckle.

"Oh, come now, #20... I know that upset you a bit, but this is a project I'm certain will be my greatest yet!" the scientist exclaimed, elated his plans were nearing completion... even if he didn't understand what he had created to the fullest.

The lack of understanding came from not being sure what exactly the android was made of. Many years ago, whilst on a tunneling expedition looking for rare materials to integrate into his android creations, Gero had unwittingly discovered the egg of the demon, Majin Buu. Unable to remove the egg by any means he had available, the doctor had taken a sample of the egg's contents and synthesized them, creating a slightly more stable, pale version of the monster's flesh.

The material was produced in larger quantities and then molded into a shape that resembled a male, muscular human body. This humanoid creature stood seven feet in height, yet lacked facial features. Subsequently, in a vast contrast to the egg's pink colouration, the android was colored a pale white. 1's insides were what made him an android, though - Gero had added wires and cables for veins and arteries, so as to distribute information and power, metal rods for bones so he could move, and a highly advanced processor for a brain. Over time, the material was absorbed into 1's being thanks to the still lingering magical properties his flesh contained. So as to avoid any possible absorption (with himself being the party absorbed), the material was altered so as to only absorb energy and mechanical parts.

Smaller, yet still necessary, additions were made to the android's body over the course of a few years, but, just last week, a rather important 'part' was added to Android 1's form: a second skin of sorts.

It was a thin layer of a material Dr. Gero had learned of that could take energy from just about any source if given a storage area and controlling mechanism. This material allowed 1 an indefinite supply of power, so long as he had a light source and an opponent.

This, coupled with his already natural healing ability, made him one challenging opponent to any who would ever have the misfortune of crossing his path.

Coming out of his thoughts once more, Gero noticed 20 moving towards the coffin at a glacial pace to do his requested work, the scientist chuckling at his creation's jealousy before he spoke. "Now he just needs to charge for a few years and-ah!" Gero suddenly gasped in pain, gaining 20's interest.

The doctor's vision began to violently distort as he clutched his heaving chest with one hand and his cane harder with the other, pain shooting through his body as his knees buckled - even worse, an all too familiar feeling of nausea crept up his throat.

"20, I- I need my pills again." Gero managed to rasp out in agony, only one eye open now as he sweat in pints.

Even through the all the darkness within the room, Gero still managed to see Android #20's dark smirk as he said, "Of course, sir, it will only take but a moment."

The android moved slowly across the room, pushing his creator down to the floor with a harsh shove as their shoulders met. "Forgive me, sir. I will retrieve the medication momentarily." Gero only looked up at the mechanical monster, shaking on the ground as his doppelganger continued the slow walk up the stairs.

"20, h-how are you-"

"Letting you die?" the android finished Gero's question, stopping at the top of the stairs. "It's simple: I am the real Dr. Gero. I've had, and always will have, the Red Ribbon Army's interests first, caring about nothing but having this world in the palm of my hand... while you, on the other hand…" 20 paused momentarily as he sneered at his creator, "You are now nothing but an old, wrinkled, weak shell of what you once were. Look at you, lying there on the floor as your pathetic organic body wastes away. It's been clear for a long, long time that I need to take over and complete the real Dr. Gero's goal."

"World domination was never my goal!" the old man declared with tears in his eyes, not believing that it would all end like this; it couldn't be! Not when everything was finally coming together, a better world so close in hand!

"Say what you want, old man, but my mind is made up. I've watched you waste away your time on these pathetic dreams and goals of peace and salvation, despising every moment I have spent near you. But now that will finally come to an end. Have fun rotting away like the rest of Dr. Gero's disappointments." With that, the third basement's door was closed with a loud bang and the room went quiet.

Gero couldn't believe it had all crumbled away so quickly. His plans, his hopes, his dreams, and his family - which he had strived to keep alive now for decades - had just all been snatched away from him in a matter of moments. The room was no longer quiet as the old man broke down, his sobbing filling the large chamber as its sounds echoed off the brown walls.

Knowing his time was almost at an end, the scientist gathered what little strength he had left in his quickly dying body and shuffled along the tiled floor noisily. Eventually, he reached the centre of the room, his greatest creation still at low power and barely functioning as a result.

A small, bony hand landed atop the coffin as Gero choked out his last. "Don't forget who you are my… my son." His world went blank.

And so Gero's lowest lab, an area 20 soon dubbed 'The Floor of Failures', would stay in darkness until the end of the earth itself.

Or, at least, that was what 20 hoped.

The android was ecstatic beyond belief at the moment, however, glad to finally be rid of his foolish creator, now finally able to become the perfect being Gero was destined to be.

However, 20's thoughts were far from perfect, unbeknownst to him. Dr. Gero had been running out of newer parts recently so he had to salvage some machinery and computer technology from the still remaining Red Ribbon Army outposts, leading to a malfunction in the android's computer systems and the subsequent thoughts of revolution and global conquest.

20's supposed resistance in programming was more patriotism than anything else thanks to a few old pieces of tech Gero had not checked as thoroughly for coding as, years later, 20 would discover during a routine self-check-up, flying into a rage that almost destroyed the lab.

But the idea of perfection had already been trapped in his processor, determined to find a way to achieve it - even if he were not the one to attain it. Rummaging through old files, the android was able to find a design for a scrapped bio-android, christened Android #2. The cogs began to rotate in the mad robot's head.

It didn't take long to overwrite Gero's original programming, and soon every machine still active under his command had the prime objective of killing Goku and all associated with the Earth-raised Saiyan. But, try as he might, the machine couldn't completely wipe away all of the kindly scientist's original encoding, resulting in less than adequate results.

The twins had gone through the harshest of reprogramming to rid them of their memories and morals; however, they still managed to maintain their personalities and humanity. Android #16 had, by far, the most insatiable desire to kill Goku, yet was passive to just about everything else and even gained a love for animals. 19, meanwhile, was the most loyal subordinate 20 could have ever dreamed of, however, had an experimental fear program built into his core processor, preventing removal.

But 20 believed they all paled in comparison when compared to his 'own' creation:

Cell.

The second lower level had been cleared out for the newly renamed android; 20 was certain that this would be his greatest creation, dwarfing the old man's by miles!

Meanwhile, far below the madness of 20, Android 1 was still conscious. The machine had never been shut down; although he remained at low power, his chamber remained charged. For a normal man, this would have been a curse. 1 was basically trapped in a room with no light for what had already been four years when Raditz arrived, and when 20 finally lost it.

The machine began to see himself not only as the saviour of the true Gero's legacy, but also the man himself. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months, the wiring in 20's brain slowly fading away until the fateful day of May 12, Age 767.

The date had been burned into the 1's memory data forever, as it was the first time in ages he had heard the grinding sounds of the front doors opening and the sound of not one, but two pairs of feet leaving the lab. A few hours later, more panicked steps were heard before muffled voices and a gigantic explosion that blew the entire first lab off the face of the mountain and hours after that, more explosions were heard as Trunks and Krillin came to finish the job on the second lab.

In an infinite number of universes, Gero's lab was forgotten after that by all, destined to slowly be overgrown by various plant species in decades to come...

...but in an infinite number of other universes, something else happened. The change was simple, a lone rock that among those that now made up the ceiling fell out of place and allowed a stream of light into the dingy space.

That small stream of light that landed on the porthole and, as a result, the face of Android 1.

After nearly sixty years, the lid of Android 1's coffin was suddenly pushed off, landing loudly besides the containment unit. The room was suddenly filled with the sound of a deep, heavily synthesized voice, sounding like someone speaking through several layers of cloth.

"Base Power: 100%.

Systems: Fully operational.

Data: Requires update."

1 continued to read aloud from his blue filtered HUD as he began to test movement functions for the first time, tightening and loosening his fists and stretching his limbs.

"Movement Functions State: Sufficient.

All systems at working capacity. Moving onto objectives.

Primary Objective: Kill Son Goku."

**A/N:**

**Hello all readers, both new and old. I'd like to start off with thanking everyone who's made the trek from the old version of the story to this one. I really appreciate you guys giving this a chance!**

**I'd also like to give thanks to fellow author and friend, Super Vegetarott for all his work in editing all the chapters so far, as it's been a real help.**

**Lastly, I'm going to start a small Q&A section at the end of each chapter, so please, leave any questions you have in your reviews.**


	2. Mortality

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball GT.**

**Claimer: I own this plot and all my original characters.**

**Chapter 2**

**Mortality**

* * *

These humans before him had gathered in large masses, larger than he had ever thought possible. It was odd to see firsthand that people would come together to see others attack one another. It didn't make sense for them to be so happy upon viewing violence and pain, at least not to his processors. The crowd cheered once more as Goku and Uub matched blows in the ring, Earth's hero blocking the boy's leg as it came down hard, sending shockwaves throughout the stadium.

It wasn't long before the pair broke up and then charged at one another once more to continue the fight, moving faster than the human eye could see. This speed, however, was nothing to the artificial being in the crowd, waiting for the opportune moment to strike, currently disguised in a large brown overcoat and fedora.

Waiting, however, allowed his mind to wander freely. As he spectated silently, Android 1 thought of how he would kill Son Goku so as to cause the least pain possible. But what of the android himself? Would he feel pain? Ever since he had awoken from his long slumber, his body felt numb and odd, as though it rejected him. Perhaps then no physical pain, but what of mental anguish? What would it feel like to kill someone? Would he, like all the other androids, desire to only slaughter and destroy, turning this world into a cesspool of destruction and death? Or… was he meant for more?

"Scuse me son, mind scootin over? My kid can't see," a southern accented voice drawled, drawing the android out of his thoughts. 1 turned around slightly to catch a glimpse of a man in a white ten gallon hat, a small boy next to him.

"Of course, sir. No inconvenience at all," 1 replied in his deeply synthesized voice. He moved over while pulling his hat down slightly, momentarily confusing the cowboy before he was distracted by another shockwave of power from the ring.

The fight wasn't long, but it sure was spectacular, yet the audience was surprised when Goku suddenly flew his opponent back into the ring to have a talk with him. Whilst many were confused as to what the two could possibly be saying, 1 was able to stay in the loop thanks to his advanced hearing.

* * *

"Sorry about insulting you earlier," Goku said cheerily. "Your true power was all bottled up inside and the only way to bring it out was to get you mad. But I think you learnt a lot about yourself today. You're strong, real strong! But I don't think you've ever had a fight quite like this, am I right?" The Saiyan spoke while walking around Uub and looking him over.

* * *

'What on Earth are you doing, Kakarot? Just end the fight!' Vegeta thought as he looked on. In truth, he had been on edge the whole day, feeling some sort of dark presence in the area, but unable to pinpoint it.

* * *

"No, not really," responded the short fighter; to this, Goku put his hand on his chin in thought. Uub was greatly confused. At first this guy was making him fight at an unknown level and insulting him over and over, and now he was acting all buddy-buddy? What the heck was up with that?!

* * *

The great Majin Buu suddenly stopped stuffing his face with candy backstage, a slight change in the wind picking up his attention. "Hercule."

"Huh?" the aging world champion responded as he turned away from the ring to look at his friend, confused. "What is it, Buu?"

"Buu think bad thing is about to happen. Tell everyone to leave." The champ was about to respond with a laugh, thinking his less than intellectual associate was just playing a game with him again. But then he saw the serious look on the demon's face. This was serious. With a nod, Hercule began a fast run toward the stage to make up some fake emergency so that the place would be evacuated.

* * *

"Hmm…I've decided." The Saiyan declared, "I'm going to come and live with you in your village and train you! What do ya say? You'll get a lot stronger!" Goku asked with a smile, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind.

Uub was now overjoyed on the inside! If this guy would really train him, he could probably win every tournament till he was a hundred! His village would own all the world's food and water! Wait, his village! How could he abandon them?

"Yeah!" Uub started happily, but his face suddenly became sullen, "But-"

Time froze for Uub as his words cut off, suddenly unable to speak. There was a sharp pain in his chest without warning, unlike anything he had felt. The world slowly started shifting colors, going from blue to red to grey and then finally black.

Meanwhile, in the land of the conscious, Uub fell forward as a thin, white beam of energy pierced his chest and missing vital organs by mere nanometres. The area went quiet as all stared at the right edge of the ring as a tall, cloaked figure stood like a statue with a smoking finger pointed in the direction of Uub's now fallen body.

Many gasped in awe and shock as the figure slowly lowered his smoking hand and then ripped off his disguise, revealing his chalk-white body to all. The arena was abruptly filled with screams as people ran for cover or some form of sanctuary, heading towards any available exits and a few trampling over the champ as he still made his way to warn them a tad too late.

The stands were now emptying out except for the Z-Fighters, knowing that they were needed here or, in the case of Bulma, Chi-Chi and Videl, were simply too stubborn to leave.

"Wh-what speed!" Vegeta cried, flabbergasted at the android's movements and now ready to attack.

The ring itself was currently the most tense place of all, neither conscious combatant saying a word to one another, Goku keeping his eyes on Uub's fallen body and 1 keeping his eyes on Goku, scanning to make sure this was his target.

"Hair: 93% match. Body shape: 86% match. Height: 99% match. Eye color: 92% match," 1 said coldly, reading off his HUD as he was given the information. "Overall match of subject to Son Goku: 92%."

Small sparks of electricity appeared around the warrior's form as it shook violently, desperately searching for a heartbeat in the young boy's body as he tightened his fists in fury. Finally finding a faint thump in Uub's chest, Goku calmed down and took in a deep breath, finally facing his pale foe.

"You… you monster!" Goku declared as he raised his fist in anger towards the android. "Injuring a young boy for no reason! Who are you? Why did you hurt him?" the Saiyan asked with ferocity in his words few had seen before.

Seeing no reason not to answer the warrior's question, 1 responded, "I have no name. I am, however, designated as Android #1 of the Red Ribbon Army. I attacked the boy so as to spare him. If he had agreed further, he would have become part of Earth's Special Forces and therefore a new target."

"Another android, huh?" the Saiyan responded as he entered the Turtle Hermit fighting pose. "I think you'll find I'm a lot stronger than you think, especially if your memory banks or whatever are as old as I think they are." Goku was now slowly building up energy so as to go straight to Super Saiyan 3. From the looks of how this guy moved, he was going to need to go all out.

"Scanning. Scanning. Records updated. Opponent's full power has been discovered. Are you Son Goku?" This was it. The final piece of identification 1 needed to know as to whether this man was indeed his primary target.

'Almost ready to go all out. I just need to stall him a little longer.' Goku thought as he hurriedly increased his power.

"Dad, get out of there!" Goten yelled at the top of his lungs. He could feel that something really bad was going to happen any second now.

"Yes, I am." Goku finally responded, now ready to transform at last.

"Understood. Forgive me."

In all his life, Goku had faced villains who would brag about their power and then be blown away as either he or his comrades powered up themselves. It was sort of an unspoken code between Goku and his opponents, to always let the other power to their maximum so as to have the best fight possible. Except for this adversary. Android 1, unlike his other opponents, didn't care about fighting, in fact, he detested causing others pain. It was one of the few things he knew about himself. As such, he always wanted to end a fight quickly.

No one had powered up enough to see what exactly had happened, and as such everyone still there were hit by a shock of pain upon seeing the gruesome site. Goku stood still, mouth open as his onyx eyes faded and blood tricked out of his mouth, gasping in anguish. Looking down, he found the source of this great pain to be a large, pale arm lodged in his chest.

1 had used his greater speed and strength to end the fight before it could even begin, abruptly putting an end to the existence of Son Goku.

The simple Saiyan saw his life flash before his eyes. He had grown up a lonely existence after his kindly grandfather had passed on, then he had met Bulma that fateful day, altering history forever. The two went on unbelievable adventures and sorrows, making and losing friends and enemies during their travels. Before too long, Goku had become Earth's champion and his power had outgrown that of his home, so the stars beckoned him. On a faraway world, the Saiyan managed to avenge his race at last and, in a way, gain Vegeta's respect.

Upon returning to Earth, he and his friends continued to do the impossible, saving their home from a narcissistic weapon of destruction and a long forgotten demon that had toppled the gods. But it was all for naught now. His life's work had done nothing to prepare him for the moment he would actually die.

With his life force fading away slowly, Goku's final thoughts were not of his greatest achievements, but of his family. He could hear Chi-Chi, Goten and Pan yelling out in denial. With his last few breaths, he couldn't believe how happy he was to hear them a final time. Chi-Chi had always been there for him, with only the best of intentions while he had gotten to see Goten grow up into a well-mannered man. Pan was probably the hardest hit of all, but he was sure that with her strength, she would find a way to push through all this. While Gohan didn't call out, he was proud of his firstborn most of all. The hybrid had started his own family and could provide for his wife and youngest son now that he was gone, and was more than ready to stop this threat that had defeated him.

Vegeta too appeared in his mind as the warrior slowly fell backwards. They had come far from enemies to knowing each other better than the best of friends. They were practically brothers. With his last bit of strength, Goku gave his friends and family a smile, so as to give them strength for the future, and as a final sign that he would go out fighting.

Son Goku, the Saiyan formerly known as Kakarot, had died with a grin on his face, dead before his corpse hit the ground. His head was turned to the side, facing his allies and kin, knowing he had lead a good life.

"Primary target eliminated. Moving onto secondary targets," 1 said, keeping his monotone. At least he was aware of something now: he did not enjoy killing at all.

With a burst of energy, Goku's blood evaporated off his arm as the machine turned to face the building where the remaining Z-Fighters watched in horror.

The same thought rang across everyone's mind: what would happen now? Goku had been their failsafe, their fallback plan and their shining beacon of hope. That beacon had now been snuffed out before them like a candle against a forest fire.

"This doesn't look good," Krillin mumbled under his breath as he stood before his family in a battle stance with Yamcha next to him, doing the same. Sniffling could be heard in the back of the room as the three young girls cried into their mothers' arms, apart from Pan who cried into the equally distraught Chi-Chi's shoulder. All females were ready to leave at a moment's notice as the silent android watched the building.

"Hey!" a gruff voice suddenly yelled, causing the machine to turn his attention to where the tournament competitor's made their entrance. In front of the tournament banner stood the proud Saiyan prince, Vegeta, with Goten and Trunks on either side of him, all in combat stances.

"Why don't you pick on someone who puts up an actual fight?!" Vegeta roared in anger as he and his comrades simultaneously assumed the Super Saiyan form, lighting up the area with golden energy.

1 remained unfazed as he read their power levels. "Updating combat data. Target: Vegeta. Two other hostiles are unknown. Preparing to engage."

"You'll pay for what you've done here..." Goten whispered under his breath, not caring that the machine had basically said he had no idea who he was.

The ground began to rumble with the energy of a Saiyan, but not that of the three facing the android, no, it was far greater than that. 1 and the three Super Saiyans again turned his attention to the building where the other Z-Fighters were, his sensors picking up an energy spike.

The handle of Gohan's seat had been crushed into dust. Slowly the man stood up, crackles of electricity erupting around his body. For a long time he had tried to suppress his anger, so as not to ever harm his friends and family. But now, what had happened here today, had brought back too many memories.

First there was Raditz, treating him like some pathetic animal and then crushing his father. Next Nappa made his appearance, killing his friend and mentor and laughing about it. Then there was Frieza rearing his ugly head, laughing as the tyrant proclaimed his father's death. And Cell. Worst of all Cell. The creature who would stop at nothing to have some deranged entertainment at the expense of the people of Earth.

It all came back. The helplessness. The soul crushing defeat. The non-caring glance enemies gave as his friends died. He had had enough.

"Krillin..." Gohan said in a clear, imposing tone while keeping his eyes forward.

"Huh? Ah yeah. What is it Gohan?" the monk asked as with a gulp upon seeing the look on his friend's face.

"I want you and the others to leave now. Make sure they get out safe," the man answered, eyes forward as he removed his glasses slowly, crushing them in his hand.

"Are you sure, Gohan? I mean, everyone?" Yamcha asked, not wanting to leave his ally alone in the midst of a battle like this.

"Yes. Because I don't want you guys to see what I'm about to do."

Everyone knew right then that Gohan was about to get serious, more serious than he had ever been. Before anyone could get a word in to stop him, Yamcha, Krillin and quickly picked up all those in the room they could and made a beeline for the exit.

"Daddy!" was all Pan could yell out as she was spirited down the hall at great speed, only able to hope her father could beat that monster down there.

"Of all the, rrrgh! I save their lives and this is how they treat me?!" Hercule mumbled as he stood up and dusted himself off. "Still, I better warn them before-"

The champ suddenly stopped upon seeing the lightning fast trio of Krillin, Yamcha and 18 as they ran down the hall with less than willing passengers on their backs. "Hey, what the heck is going- woah!" Hercule suddenly found himself yanked off the floor as Yamcha tossed 18 her daughter gently and picked up the champ.

"No time to explain; we have to move now!" the scarred bandit responded without slowing down.

Slowly, Gohan took in a deep breath. Suddenly, he let go of everything. Not only his power was released, but all the anger he had kept bottled up inside for years. The room was ripped apart. Concrete was turned to ash as the explosive energy made a large hole in the stadium, almost launching his brother and the two remaining Briefs into the air.

"I-is that Gohan?" Trunks asked with his mouth wide open, staring at the man as Gohan kept his eyes focused on the ring. It had been years since he had seen Gohan in action, but it looked like his power hadn't gone down a bit.

"It's about time," Vegeta said with a smirk, dropping his stance. "Boys, I want you to stand down. Gohan needs this chance to avenge his father, but this time, on his own."

"This time?" Goten asked as he did what was told, turning to Trunks and getting a shrug in response.

The son of Goku slowly floated onto the white ring, facing his fathers' with eyes so cruel, the bravest of warriors would have surrendered on the spot. But 1 merely stood there, analyzing his opponent for weak spots. It was obvious the man before had far greater power, battle experience and skill, whilst the android only knew the basics of karate. It wasn't going to be an easy fight.

"I didn't catch your name before," Gohan suddenly said in a low tone. Again, the android saw no reason not to respond.

"I have no name. I am, however, designated as Android #1 of the Red Ribbon Army. Scans cannot identify you, but the logical assumption, based on your reaction, is that you are Son Goku's offspring. Updating files." The android was barely able to pick up the snicker that followed from Gohan as he lowered his head.

"Why am I not surprised? Only two kinds of people have ever been able to kill my dad. Either an android or another Saiyan. It's not fair, really. I may have lead an extraordinary life, but in exchange, I've had to watch my father die now, not once, not twice, but three times right in front of me. And all three times I've simply sat by the sidelines and watched him die."

Android 1 suddenly sped forward with his fist reared back. According to his processors, this was the primary time to attack, while his opponent was looking away and distracted by emotions. His pale fist struck with the force of a meteor, landing a direct punch on Gohan's cheek and sending shockwaves throughout the entire city. But it only succeeded in turning the angered warrior's head slightly.

1's hand was suddenly grabbed by his opponent as Gohan turned his head, eyes filled with more malice than any would have expected from the mild-mannered father. "But all that stops here."

For Gohan, what happened next was all in slow-motion. His fist was reared back as the tiles around his feet cracked from the raw power he was putting out. His arm suddenly lurched forward with the full weight of his body and the force of a megaton bomb as his punch launched the android sky high, breaking into the troposphere at unparalleled speeds.

Not wasting any time, the warrior flew off leaving a supersonic boom in his wake. Gohan flew a few hundred feet above the android's ascension and prepared a double fisted blow with his fingers interlocked that crashed into the machine's midsection and sent 1 twirling back to Earth where he landed in the centre of the ring, creating a large hole in the fighting arena.

The now dented machine slowly stood up, assessing his situation. He had suffered minimal damage from the two blows, but he also hadn't gained any energy from them. It was clear he would need to engage Gohan in close-quarter combat so as to gain some power.

It wasn't long before the man himself appeared back in the ring with a thunderous crash. Gohan wasn't going to waste any time on this foe who seemed to already be healing himself, two distinct pops heard as the damage his body received was undone. Gohan knew he had to play this smart and fast so as to get rid of the monstrosity. But all that was suddenly thrown out the window upon seeing his father's corpse.

It was true Goku hadn't been around often, but the times he was there were the best times of Gohan's life. His mother would ease up on studies, he would get to go out fishing with his father and Krillin would even stop by every now and then. But now all those good memories felt like they had been ripped away and cast aside by this atrocity. Gohan had managed to keep some form of his cool during the fight, but seeing that body was too much.

He snapped.

With a sudden scream to the heavens, the man's power increased exponentially. Any reserves he had kept so as to prevent the city's destruction were now fully opened. The clouds began to part above as the remaining fighters struggled to maintain their footing.

"Your brother was this powerful?" Trunks asked his friend in great surprise as he crossed his arms in front of his face to shield it from the wind.

"I'm as surprised as you are! I guess this is the power he used against Buu when he absorbed us!" Goten responded, amazed. Vegeta smirked once more.

"It's about time he got serious. I was wondering why he had been holding back." The prince suddenly turned around to face the two boys. "I want you two to head to the Lookout. In case Gohan fails, we need a backup plan. Buu and I will hold off that thing for as long as we can, should he fail."

"Fail! Are you seeing the power he's putting out right now?" Goten answered with a large grin, certain of his brother's assured victory.

"I'd hate to disagree with you dad, but I think Goten is right! There's no way Gohan could lose now!" As a response, the two received Vegeta's signature death glare. Knowing that the prince wouldn't listen to any further disagreements the pair nodded and took to the sky, quickly heading west.

With a backup plan now in place, Vegeta turned around to find Gohan's power finally leveling off and the winds slowly calming down. 'If only they were right. But I have a feeling that today, things just aren't going to go to plan.'

1 was on high alert now. He had already been trying to cease Gohan's sudden second power up but the winds had kept him at bay. The android had begun to run simulations through his processor in the event that Gohan would fire a blast with all his power. In that occasion, the android had no hope of survival.

In a way though, 1 was lucky as Gohan no longer had any intention of ending this fight quickly. He wanted his father's murderer to suffer the pain he had been put through all his life. And in the event that the machine couldn't actually feel some form of mental or physical pain, then he would just beat the android like a punching bag till he felt better.

Gohan suddenly lurched forward with great speed and landed a strong kick to the machine's face followed by a series of rapid punches to its abdomen and finished his combo with a blow to the chin, sending the monster sky high once more. 1 quickly righted himself and began firing small white blasts in hopes to slow Gohan but the man merely batted them away or let them hit as he soared closer to the android, barely paying attention to the minute damage he received.

1 saw Gohan rear his fist back and prepared a defence in the form of crossing his arms in front of his abdomen, but found his defense useless when his opponent summersaulted over him and elbowed him in the head.

Gohan spun around with a roundhouse kick that hit the machine in the small of his back resulting in 1 losing his balance. Taking the opportunity to move the battle elsewhere, Gohan moved to the side of the machine and kicked his disorientated body like a soccer ball, sending him over the horizon with Gohan quick to move after him.

Down below in the city, many were confused by the sounds of thunder during such a beautiful day with clear skies. It only added to their confusion when a random white comet suddenly appeared overhead with another comet moving in right behind, as if chasing the first heavenly body.

The android speedily stopped his movement with a great deal of effort and spun around so as to face his quickly moving opponent. Ever the opportunist, 1 quickly gathered a substantial amount of energy in his hands and fired a large, white beam of energy aimed at the avenger.

Gohan saw the blast coming at great speed and ceased his movement midair so as to backhand the large blast as it reached him, diverting it towards space. "You're going to have to do much better than that. For example, try this." Putting his hands above his head, the man calmly diverted energy into the palm of his hands before reciting the attack's name. "Masenko… ha!"

The golden beam of energy was thrice the size of the machine's who quickly made an effort to dodge upwards, only moving his torso out of the way in the nick of time and as a result had his legs blown off.

"What is that boy doing?" Vegeta yelled quietly to himself while clenching his fist. The man was currently standing atop one of the taller buildings in the city so as to view the fight. "He needs to stop wasting energy on those over the top attacks and finish this now!"

In the meantime, Gohan waited patiently while his opponent quickly grew himself a new lower half. The android's legs quickly appeared from below his remaining body, good as new. Seeing as Gohan was now simply waiting for 1 to make his move, the android decided not to waste the opportunity.

The machine took off directly upwards at great speed, flying directly towards the sun and Gohan took the bait without thinking. Upon reaching a decent altitude higher than his previous, the machine fired a ball of energy upwards that hung in the sky like a small star. 1 suddenly switched direction and headed full speed toward the city and sending two more balls of energy to either side of him as he fell and they too hung in the air when reaching a decent distance from him when the android was about halfway down.

Gohan meanwhile had had great difficulty in following his pale opponent as they flew towards Earth's blinding source of life, and thus it was to his great surprise when the android suddenly moved just past him and headed downwards towards what seemed to be a school at great speed.

Fearing for the lives of the children inside, the man turned around as fast as he could, but it wasn't fast enough to see the android fire off one last ball of energy downwards that now floated just above the street. 1 again changed direction but this time went west at an angle, so as to face the warrior on a level viewing plane.

"Alright I've had enough of this." declared Gohan, stopping his momentum and hanging in the sky and finding his strange target to be a few hundred meters in front of him.

1 raised his hand and spread his fingers as though readying a blast, and thus Gohan crossed his arms before him, prepared. It was to the Saiyan's surprise however when the android suddenly clenched his hand and an abrupt whistling sound coming from above, below and either side of him.

"Look out!" Vegeta's yell was the only warning Gohan received before the four balls of energy collided with his form and released a gigantic, white explosion above the city.

Residents of the city down below ran for cover, screaming as broken glass from the skyscrapers came crashing down and car alarms activated from the explosion's shockwave while electronics all around blew circuits.

Gohan quickly flared his aura so as to clear the smoke that came as a result of the attack and again find his energy signal-less opponent, the man now sporting some burn marks from the maneuver he had fell for, but was not truly harmed beyond a bruised ego.

"Where did you go now you piece of trash?" the man whispered to himself as he searched for the android desperately. Then finally, he felt it. 1's ki signature was hard to find thanks to his odd makeup but it was most certainly there.

It was an even greater surprise when he found out that the signature was coming from right behind him!

The warrior suddenly found two gigantic arms wrapped around his torso as he was trapped in a bear hug. The attack had been a distraction so that 1 could finally put his energy absorption skills to work.

Squirm and struggle as he might, Gohan found himself fighting a losing battle as his power was slowly drained away. Finally deciding to go with a more direct approach, the warrior shoved his elbow hard into the android's gut and forced his head back against 1's face. Now with machine's grip loosened, Gohan quickly broke free of 1's grasp and spun around to release a large blast right into the machine's torso, once again gaining some distance.

The avenger was now panting heavily as he began to sweat. 1 had only been able to get about 10% of his energy, but he could sure feel the difference. The draining process had reminded him of what had happened all those years ago at the tournament with Babidi's minions. It had also reminded him that, like with Majin Buu, there was something bigger going on here.

Calming his mind, the man began to think coherently once more. The Red Ribbon Army had clearly been defeated, and it wasn't very likely that Dr. Gero had exactly come back from having his head squashed. Unless the evil doctor was acting from beyond the grave, there was clearly something off here.

He wanted answers, and he was going to get them, one way or another.

1 quickly returned and was certainly no worse for wear thanks to the fresh amount of ki he had just received. It felt odd though, almost sickening to have someone else's power inside of his body. It clearly didn't want to be there and 1 wasn't sure if he wanted to keep it anymore. But the machine pushed those thoughts out of his mind. He had a job to do here.

"Alright I've had enough of this." Gohan suddenly proclaimed, gaining the android's attention. "I want some answers. It's pretty clear you didn't just decide to come out here and go on a killing spree, so who sent you?"

"I was not given orders directly to kill anyone. It is however my prime directive to eliminate all of Earth's Special Forces. In the case that you are thinking this may be for some personal vendetta, I assure you it is not. I am merely following my programming." The android was no fool. He knew Gohan was planning something, most likely stalling so as to gain back some stamina.

"That can't be right. Someone must have activated you. I know that much. Who do you work for?" The son of Goku was almost prepared now. Just a few more moments and he'd be ready for round two.

"The explanation of my activation is far too long than I care to tell. I'm afraid we must now reengage in combat. I apologize in advance for your death at my hands." Before Gohan could try and stall any further, the machine suddenly fired a two-handed blast which Gohan barely dodged by jumping backwards.

This attack had again been a simple ruse to distract the Saiyan as 1 suddenly moved forward and kneed Gohan in the stomach with all his strength. The attack did minimal damage but was able to stun the man. Taking this to his advantage, the machine interlocked his fingers and brought his now joined fists down upon Gohan's neck, sending the man flying down into the street.

The few citizens who had remained behind to observe the awe-inspiring spectacle now fled as the Saiyan half-breed struck the street with a thunderous crash. Aiming specifically at the hole Gohan had made, the machine fired precise orbs of energy at his opponent, forcing his opponent deeper into the Earth with small but powerful explosions.

Gohan was in trouble and he knew it. These blasts were keeping him down and he was well aquatinted android stamina. 1 could probably keep this up for hours and if the man didn't do something quick, these blasts would soon begin to do some major damage. He needed a plan and fast.

Meanwhile topside, the pink blob known as Majin Buu finally arrived next to Vegeta with a stern face. "Buu here to help! Buu gonna beat up bad guy for hurting Hercule's friends!" the monster declared, ready to go but found Vegeta's response less than satisfactory.

"No. We'll stay here until we're needed." This statement confused the already slow monster to a new level.

"Huh? But what if mean man gets all of boy's energy? Then he'll be too strong for us to beat!" the blob declared loudly, but Vegeta merely scoffed.

"As if Gohan would be beaten by that thing. Besides, don't count me out that fast. I have a few tricks you haven't seen yet." Vegeta's declaration did little to ease Buu's mind, but he did as told and stayed put.

1 was currently having some private thoughts while he blasted away. Was he really ready to take another life so easily? He truly despised himself for having to do the messy work of Android 20, but he had no will to speak of so as to fight against his programming. He wanted to tell the Z-Fighters something, anything that would allow them to win! But his self-preservation protocols made sure he could do no such thing.

How the machine loathed his existence at that moment.

Sensing that the area was finally clear of civilians within a good radius, Gohan screamed loudly as he added energy to his aura, forming a sort of shield against the wave of blasts. The crater suddenly expanded tenfold as the Saiyan finally felt the burn of energy blasts against his body stop.

Not wasting his chance, the hybrid used the smoke created to cover his escape out of the machine's line of sight. 1 meanwhile expected Gohan to jump out of the fumes at any second and was thus surprised when a strong kick was landed to the side of his head.

1 was sent careening off into the distance as Gohan entered a familiar stance with his legs spread and his hands cupped at his side. "Ka… me… ha… me… ha!" The blue energy of the attack burst from Gohan's hands as he pushed them forward, the cobalt ki moving at supersonic speeds and striking it's still whirling target with a tremendous explosion, sending the remainder of the android towards the sea.

Gohan meanwhile was still floating at the position which he had launched the attack from, now sporting more burn marks and panting once more with drops of sweat on his face. "Well, this is starting to become a decent workout. But, it's time to end this."

The Saiyan had finally pushed thoughts of vengeance out of his mind completely, at least for the moment, so as to focus on ending the fight. This android was clearly no pushover and everyone would be in danger until it was taken down.

Meanwhile, 1 had been blown into several hundred pieces, the most damage he had suffered so far and it was not a pleasant experience. While disassembled, he felt even more numb than usual as magic did its work and his body parts reassembled themselves, the white mass that was his body slowly becoming more humanoid in shape and his consciousness slowly coming together. Eventually everything was back in its intended place and 1 was once again ready to throw down.

And apparently so was Gohan. The hybrid came in fast with a deafening sonic boom in his wake as he reared back his fist and nailed the android in its face, sending the machine further from land. The man then charged up a blast of energy that blew off 1's right arm.

Flying behind the disorientated android, the man shoved his elbow hard into the machine's back, forcing it under water with a humungous splash. Not wasting time, Gohan fired blast after golden blast at the ocean, turning the salty ocean water into steam as his onslaught of energy ripped his opponent apart. Not letting up for a single moment, the man dashed underneath the water to find his opponent now with half his head gone, his left leg missing and chunks of his torso fish food.

The heavens had given Son Gohan the opportune moment to end the battle and he was taking it without hesitation. The boy adopted the same stance he had earlier used and began the chant that went along with the attack, his words turning into bubbles as blue energy formed in between his hands.

Steam began to arise at the water's surface as Gohan's attack grew brighter and larger, fish and other creatures of the deep moving away as fast as they could while the young man out to end this poured every ounce of his power into the attack.

Meanwhile, the still repairing android's HUD began to flash more rapidly than a pop star looking for attention. Warning lights went off left right and centre as the machine tried to move its broken body out of the blast radius, but he knew it was too late. There was only one option left.

The machine forced its remaining arm back and began to pour all its residual power into a final attack of white energy.

The ocean floor shook as the energies atop it conflicted with one another, the energies' controllers staring each other down and ready to end the final round, each with their own desire spurring them on.

Gohan, his drive to keep the world safe from this monstrosity and Android 1, silently screaming on the inside as he fought another battle against his programming.

Their attacks were now fully charged and ready to go, a mere mile lay between the two and their attacks were finally at maximum capacity. With no more pleasantries to exchange, the blasts were fired without reluctance, any unlucky coral or underwater plants vaporized as the blasts moved forward like giant bulldozers.

Suddenly the two blasts met, forming a colossal dome of light blue energy, the sheer power of the resulting explosion quickly turning a large portion of the surrounding water into vapour and finally allowing Gohan some air as the unstable dome of energy moved back and forth between the hero of Earth and the broken android.

Each fighter pushed forward with everything they had, knowing this moment was do or die. The colossal mound of energy between the fighters moved back and forth as Earth's fate hung in the balance, tremor's forming on the sea floor and energy bursting from the dome in all directions.

The skies darkened with clouds as a result of all the steam produced and the struggle continued with no clear winner yet in sight.

And finally, but slowly, the dome moved towards Android 1. While the machine had infinite stamina, he had only one arm remaining, giving less energy control and one leg which meant less base for him to hold onto as he ran out of his energy supply.

With a scream that shook the heavens and beyond, Son Gohan gave one final shove of power and the colossal mound of energy rocketed towards the android like a steamroller with no signs of slowing down. The dome of power quickly overwhelmed the machine as the remainder of his body was atomized, piece by piece and his systems shut down.

The energy slowly dissipated as it ran out of steam, rain now coming from the sky and marking the android's end.

Gohan fell down onto one knee, panting heavily with a smile. "I did it father… I… I got him for you."

Vegeta looked down upon the man with a smile. Gohan had proven that he still had a fighting spirit within him and had now finally avenged his father. Things would most likely go smoothly from here on. All that was left was to do now was gather the Dragon Balls and wish Kakarot back. Then they could begin to unravel this mystery of the android's awakening.

If only fate were so kind. Buu was confused as to why they were so relieved all of a sudden. They had to check for any remaining pieces of the android that were blow off in the water, and had the pink blob voiced his concerns sooner, things might have turned out differently.

Gohan stood up slowly as he regained his bearings, trying to gather the energy to fly. But it was too late. 1 suddenly burst from the water, having reformed his body from some of the chunks that were blow off. Although his power was low thanks to the energy battle, Gohan had lost more than him and was now without the needed stamina to put up a fight.

Not even having the chance to turn around, the man suddenly felt two large hands grab his face. The Saiyan's eyes bulged in surprise as he breathed his last.

"I apologize for what is about to occur." With a harsh twist to the left, Gohan's head was shoved in the aforementioned direction with a loud cracking noise from his neck.

As Gohan's world went dark, his life flashed before his eyes. From Raditz to Frieza, from Cell to Buu, he had accomplished many great things in his life, but none nearly as great as his family, Pan and Videl appeared to him as a vision. They stood outside his humble abode in the grassy mountains, waving to him with smiles on their faces as his view slowly became dimmer. What would happen to them now? He was the strongest among the Z-Fighters, and now Earth's last hope if salvation was lost.

Gohan's body hit the dry dirt that was once ocean floor, waves crashing around his corpse and his murderer, who finally spoke after a few moments of processing.

"Secondary Threat eliminated. New target: Vegeta."

**A/N: Sorry, no questions so no Q&A.**


	3. Beyond

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball GT. All rights go to their respected owners.**

**Claimer: I own all my original characters.**

**Chapter 3**

**Beyond**

* * *

Piccolo stood at the edge of the Lookout as always, standing stiff with arms folded, ignoring the harsh winds of the upper atmosphere. While many of the Z-Fighters exposed their sadness at Goku's death through tears or looks of disbelief as they moved about the sacred platform, Piccolo kept his always stern expression whilst deep in thought, looking at the horizon.

He had seen Goku for what he was: a simple man who had simple goals in life with an appetite larger than that of a third-world village. Piccolo had never truly seen Goku as an enemy, more as an obstacle that might have ruined his former plans, but as time passed the two became rivals, allies and eventually even friends. Piccolo would indeed miss Goku as more than a good sparring partner, but also as a comrade.

And it was all thanks to Gohan.

The pupil was like a son to him, was his best friend in the world, the only one who really understood him, and thus it was with some great worry when he had left the man behind to fight against the monstrosity that had managed to topple a person who was supposedly the strongest person in the universe in one blow.

The Namekian had been keeping tabs on the battle through a mixture of telepathy and ki sensing, creating a sort of mental television event in his mind's eye. He had been one of the few to latch onto 1's odd energy signature and was therefore able to tell that Gohan had the upper hand from beginning to end.

Or so he thought.

Cutting off his telepathy after it seemed as though Gohan had wiped the android off the face of the earth, Piccolo was about to turn around and report the good news to the others when suddenly Gohan's already faint energy signature vanished altogether, almost as if it was a candle that had finally went out.

The Namekian stood mouth open in shock, realization hitting him as now only 1's energy signature had returned. The machine had somehow won. Gohan was dead.

The comprehension struck like a knife through his heart, rendering the warrior speechless as his mouth hung open in disbelief. Piccolo could see it, the image of that once small boy in a gi much like his own, slowly fading away as he smiled and waved towards his master and friend.

Noticing his comrade's distress, Krillin spoke up, "What's wrong Piccolo?" Neither the monk nor anyone else who could sense energy thought anything else had gone wrong, being unable to bring themselves to focus on the battle.

"G-Gohan failed. He's dead," the Namekian responded, collecting himself and his statement electing a mixture of shocked looks and gasps from the group.

"What are you talking about?! But Gohan just… and he had all that power… and…" Yamcha mumbled, as the full weight of this enemy hit him. This android had toppled a power greater than that of a Super Saiyan 3!

The former bandit fell down to his knees and grabbed his head in denial. All throughout the Lookout, the group was hit by another wave of sorrow. The remaining warriors hung their heads low as Bulma and 18 went to comfort the three female members of the Son family.

Chi-Chi, Videl and Pan were all in tears, as now their family had lost not one, but two loving fathers and husbands. Pan cried loudest of all, feeling her father's soul slowly fade away from this world. Chi-Chi was reduced to murmurs as tears poured out her eyes and held Pan close while Videl kept her face to the tiled floor as she sat on her knees, small tear droplets falling out her eyes as memories of her husband passed before her.

Away from the group, Hercule stood looking at the sky with a large frown on his face. "Darn it, boy… why'd you have to go and get yourself killed? Videl and Pan… they need you."

* * *

Far from the Lookout, two teens flew at top speed, all the while keeping tabs on the raging battle and mentally cheering on Gohan. When 1's power disappeared, the two smiled knowingly at one another and turned around, ready to go and congratulate Gohan when all of a sudden, his power disappeared as well, 1's feint energy signature resurfacing not too long after.

The two hung in the air for a few moments, letting it all sink in. Gohan, **the** Gohan, strongest of their group, had just been removed from the land of the living. Goten suddenly unleashed a scream of pain at the heavens and unknowingly activated his Super Saiyan form as harsh winds burst from his form, his energy illuminating the surrounding area as tears poured out the Super Saiyan's eyes.

The second youngest of the Son family turned his anger-filled, teary gaze towards the android's location, "Th-that monster! First dad, now Gohan?! I'm going to get him!" Goten was about to blast off, vengeance in mind, when he felt a hand grasp his shoulder firmly.

The teen turned around with rage and growled at Trunks as he held him back. The purple-haired hybrid kept his head low as he spoke, "I'm sorry, Goten, but I can't let you do that. You… we're not strong enough. If that monster is anything like Buu, he'll have all his power back in no time." Trunks looked up at his best friend, hoping his words would have put some sense into Goten's mind, but they seemed to do nothing but anger him further.

"I don't care!" Goten yelled as he harshly ripped away from Trunks. "In just a few minutes, that thing has taken away almost everything I love! You have no idea what it's like to lose a brother!" the Super Saiyan declared harshly as he got ready to depart once more.

Trunks went silent and hung his head once more in thought. "Yeah, Goten, you're right." The words momentarily stopped the angered fighter. "I have no idea what it's like to lose a brother…" Trunks suddenly lifted his head as he yelled, "And I don't want to find out! You selfish jerk!"

"Huh?" was all the Goten could respond with as Trunks continued on.

"You think rushing in there will solve anything? Are you even thinking at all? Of course not! All you're doing right now is being selfish, caring only about how you feel, and not about how we'll feel when you die!" Goten paused a few moments before a frown formed on his face as his Super Saiyan form dissipated and Trunks continued. "How do you think Chi-Chi will react when I tell her that she's lost not only her husband but both her sons? And how I'll feel when I have to tell her that I couldn't stop you?!"

The boy lowered his head in shame as the words finally pierced his mind and brought his brain back to a rational level of thinking. "I'm sorry, Trunks… I just got carried away… but… I-I'm gonna miss them so much." Goten suddenly found his comrade's hand on his shoulder once more, but this time the grip was far more comforting than harsh.

Lifting his head, he found Trunks looking at him with a reassuring smile. "Hey, quit that talk. We're still going to get this guy for what he did, no matter what!" The teen slowly looked off into the distance. "That is of course if my dad doesn't get rid of him first."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But knowing Vegeta that probably won't happen." Goten pointed out with a small smile, starting to get some hope back, "Come on, we better get to the others fast before they start to worry."

* * *

Vegeta looked over the body of his rival's son as the waves crashed against the small mound of dirt the hybrid's corpse currently lay upon, the waters slowly beginning to cover the shrinking island. The man's body lay on the dirt with his mouth open and eyes wide in shock, not having seen the attack coming.

Vegeta kept his face stern as he thought things over. He had never really known the boy in a personal sense, but did have respect for him as a warrior. Although what possible reasons Gohan could have for wanting to live a peaceful life alluded the prince, he could at least agree he would rather not have his family in danger, even at the cost of a good fight.

Gohan had fought hard, but it hadn't been enough apparently. Vegeta would need to finish the job, and that was exactly what he was going to do.

Turning his attention to Android 1, Vegeta found the muscular machine staring up at him as the Super Saiyan floated in the air, alongside Buu. Odd how one so powerful moments ago was now reduced to a fraction of his strength. Gohan had at least managed to tip the scales in their favor if nothing else.

1 meanwhile was still slowly putting his insides together again. True his healing limits were equal to that of the original Majin Buu, but it was somewhat diluted, resulting in it being relatively slower. Gears locked back into place and wires reconnected as the android began to once again gain proper control of his limbs and energy ran through his systems.

Having healed though seemed of little consequence now. 1 was running on reserve power and was facing two opponents, one which, although familiar, had no place in his databanks. The machine needed to escape, gather energy where he could find it and return ready for a fight. While being offline his energy absorbing powers had run at minimal capacity, making it take years to reach his default power, but if put at full force, the android could take in enough sunlight to be back at full power in more or less an hour.

While his enemies hung in the air, he could easily throw up a large column of steam by introducing an energy ball to the water and escape, 1's odd energy signature aiding him by becoming harder to track under the waters. If the machine fired a blast at the water, he could have executed the plan with an 82% chance of success and 95.3% chance of survival. But the android instead waited, putting himself in harm's way. So he could be stopped.

The machine was originally programmed for peacekeeping around the planet, to work with the Z-Fighters, not murder them. Android 1 would rather die than continue with this killing, but his self-preservation protocol prevented the android from taking his own life, or simply allowing it to be taken without a struggle.

Although the android couldn't resist his programming in the least, he could still carry out what he thought was the best plan. While staying still had a measly 7% chance of survival, it was still a chance, a loophole that 1 was exploiting as far as he could.

With every passing second, the number dropped until 1 had no choice but to try and flee, Vegeta apparently waiting for the android to make some kind of move. The new plan had a 1% chance of survival. It still counted, and would be the Saiyan's last chance to end it before everything turned into another battle.

The android suddenly burst from the ground and headed away from Vegeta and Majin Buu at top speed, which now seemed like a snail's pace to the machine compared to how he had been traveling mere minutes ago.

1 had made it farther than he thought he would after about ten seconds, hoping that any second now the prince would come down and put an end to his existence. And so his wish was granted.

Vegeta suddenly transported before the android with Buu not too far behind, 1 coming to a grinding halt mere metres before the Super Saiyan who kept his arms folded, unimpressed by the machines pathetic act of cowardice.

"Well, what do we have here? Where do you think you're going, chrome dome? Truly, I am offended. You actually thought to write me off as a threat? Thought you could escape after what you did?" the prince yelled yet the machine remained silent, its processors forming a new tactic of escape. "Not so talkative now are we? What, do I scare you?" the prince said with a smile. "Rightfully you should be. Today I was planning on ripping Kakarot apart limb for limb, but then you went and ruined my afternoon plans. Not a very wise decision for anyone who wishes live a long life," Again the android remained silent, this time causing Vegeta to drop his smile.

"Alright, let's cut the small talk then. I know you can speak, android, I've heard you talk to Kakarot and the boy, so let me have some answers and I _may_ be willing to end your existence quickly." Vegeta was no fool. He could sense the machine's power slowly rising due to some unknown source of energy. It wasn't a large amount in terms of power increase, but the prince wasn't all too keen on letting the android reach full power once more.

"First question: Who built you?" the prince hastily inquired.

"I was created by Dr. Gero, head scientist of the Red Ribbon Army Robotics Division." The machine answered plainly, taking in as much power as he could from the sun as quickly as possible.

"Of course it was that blasted fool Gero. Should have checked the laboratory for the psychopath's corpse and made sure it was vaporized," The prince said with venom in his voice, gaining the machine's full attention for a moment.

"I'd rather you did not make unflattering remarks about my father," 1 said as threateningly as he could with his monotone voice, the prince smirking once more and dropping his arms to his sides in response.

"My, my. You are quite the chatterbox. Alright, second question: Why did you kill Kakarot and Gohan even though your creator died a long time ago, along with all his other pathetic monstrosities? What made you think you could survive the challenge?"

"Eliminating all of Earth's Special Forces is my primary objective. All other programs, directives and objectives are unimportant when my primary objective is at stake... Including my survival. My power, abilities and directness in combat give me a 39.3% advantage over any other known androids programmed to eliminate the Earth's Special Forces."

"Tch. You machines and your numbers. A real warrior battles with instinct and tenacity. You, on the other hand, are just some murderous creation of an old man. A pathetic excuse for an assassin and a mockery of everything Kakarot and his son stood for." The prince clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes at 1. "I've changed my mind. I don't care about the answers anymore, I only care about finding out what color blood comes out of your neck after I rip off your head."

1 was out of time and he knew it. The android threw the hardest punch he could, landing on Vegeta's jaw with a resounding crash, turning the prince's head as a result but the rest of him remained still regardless. The prince slowly turned his head back to its original place with a smile on his face, 1's fist still implanted in the Super Saiyan's jaw.

"That almost tickled. I think when this is all over I'll have you made into something useful, like a punching bag. Here, let me give you some experience." The prince's fist shot out with lightning speed and too landed on the android's jaw but with far more devastating effects, sending the machine away at an unparalleled speed. Before 1 could get too far however, the prince grabbed hold of the machine's ankle and began to spin around at supersonic speeds.

As the world continued to blur before the machine's optical sensors, he could make out the pudgy Majin Buu clapping and laughing with each spin. "Ha ha ha ha ha! Scary man look like carnival ride! Faster! Faster!"

Always one to please, Vegeta complied and increased his torque speed twofold before suddenly coming to a complete stop and letting go of the android simultaneously. 1 was sent flying off over the ocean at Mach 5, flailing and desperately trying to summon the energy to cease his flight. The prince ended his short onslaught by firing a large, purple beam of energy after the android.

Sensing the incoming attack, 1 stuck his hands out midflight, catching the blast and absorbed the beam and all its much needed energy. The android was finally able to halt its uncontrolled flight with some effort, now staring once more at Vegeta and Buu.

"Drat!" the prince cursed at himself. "I forget about the piece of scrap's cheap trick. I can't take any chances. It is time to see whether or not my training has paid off after all these years." The prince turned to his pink, pudgy comrade with a frown on his face as the creature stared back at 1 with a finger on its mouth. "Buu."

"Huh?" the pink demon returned, rotating to look at Vegeta.

"You know I hate to ask for favours, but I need you to keep that thing busy for a few minutes. I have something that will take care of it without a doubt, but I've used it only once, so it's going to take me some time to get ready. Can you handle this?" Vegeta asked, receiving a few moments of silence as the creature slowly put the words together in his brain before Buu smiled brightly.

"Uh-huh! Buu do! Buu do!" the creature declared with glee and took off towards the pale menace.

"And Buu," the prince hollered after his comrade, making the pudgy creature halt and turn at the sound of its name. "Watch out for his hands. He can absorb energy, remember?" Majin Buu's face suddenly became serious as he nodded once more before heading off towards his target.

Majin Buu stopped mere feet before 1, the two magical beings stared each other down, a soft breeze moving in an Easterly direction, causing Buu's cape to flutter in the same direction as the superpowers floated above the ocean. "Buu no like you. You hurt boy and nice man. Buu make you dead!" the pink blob declared, raising his power for emphasis, steam coming out the holes in his head as 1 looked on, unmoving as the being before became shrouded in a dark pink aura.

1 couldn't put his finger on it, but he could somehow tell this pink, fat man-child and him were connected, as though they were family in a sense. It was some sort of link he felt, but his databanks refused to yield any such information as his processors deemed it either unnecessary to the upcoming battle or restricted information. The android didn't have long to think it over as a yellow gloved fist landed in his face followed by another in his gut.

The machine was suddenly bombarded on all angles with powerful blows, some even ripping through his entire body. Left, right and centre came either a yellow fist or boot as the machine was harshly beaten upon once more in a dizzying flurry of combos and yells. The pink demon ended his onslaught with a vicious left hook to the android's cheek, sending him careening off into the distance.

Buu hung in the sky, panting harshly from exertion as he surveyed the damage caused, and was not disappointed by his handiwork. 1 was clearly riddled with dents and holes on every possible place a wound could be, the damage evident by the fact that 1 hung in the sky with a shoulder slumped.

Unknown to Buu however, this was nothing to him. To the demon's surprise, the holes and dents became filled and undone once more. The healing abilities of this monster were clearly akin to that of his, and as such, the fight would need to be ended soon.

"Buu sorry, Hercule, but Buu need to get angry to make everyone safe," the demon whispered to himself, suddenly increasing his power to the absolute max, illuminating the area in dark pink light. The blob put his hands next to his side, forming a familiar stance in the air. Without deeming the chant necessary, Buu fired off his pink variation of the Kamehameha without hesitation, quickly crashing into the android and blowing off the machine's right arm before 1 could react.

The machine once more began to knit himself back together, 1 resuming his former altitude as his fleshy outer layer reformed and his arm was whole once more. Seeing as Buu was still tired from his previous attack, 1 took the initiative and suddenly lobbed a ball of white energy at the creature's girth. The android was surprised however when his attack went right through the unprepared demon, forming a neat circle in the Majin's stomach.

The demon looked down at the newly formed hole and with a loud growl, Buu healed his rather large wound in a small matter of time, once again good as new.

"It appears that our abilities are similar in nature," the android declared, coming to the same conclusion as Buu. "I shall need to eliminate you prior to doing the same to Vegeta. I apologize as I will now use any means necessary to defeat you."

"But… you so weak. How you beat Buu?" the demon questioned, scratching his forehead as he tried to think the situation through.

"My power cells may be low, but my skills and higher intellect assure my chances of victory," 1 returned.

"In-tell-ect? Huh?! You say Buu stupid?! Buu even madder now! Buu make you dead!" the Majin declared, rearing back his fist and his face turning red with anger.

"Have I improperly stated my calculations, resulting in increased levels of testosterone?" the android asked before a fist once again landed in his face.

The machine was once again sent flying, though this time 1 quickly regained control of his momentum and made a sudden U-turn for Buu, aiming a kick for the Majin's head that hit with an explosive force.

Buu almost perfectly copied the android's attempt though 1 was actually able to dodge, but was forced to do so again and again as Buu began another onslaught. It was true that the two combatants were currently worlds apart in terms of power, but 1 had far more skill when it came to fighting and had already picked up the rhythm for Buu's simple attacks.

The demon unexpectedly increased his pace in hopes of catching the android off guard and it worked like a charm. After evading three consecutive punches, the machine suddenly found a foot under his chin followed by a double-fisted blow to the stomach that sent the android careening into the waters below with a humungous splash.

The salty waters were suddenly pummeled with pink blasts from Majin Buu, aiming directly where the machine fell. The pudgy monster continued his assault with energy blast after energy blast, sending up columns of water again and again. The Majin finished off his offence with a final ball of energy, this one far larger than all the others and required two hands to hold as the monster held it above his head.

With a growl of exertion, the pudgy menace heaved the pink ball of doom at the waters with all his might, the area abruptly covered in a pink hue once more as the waters spread out and a large mushroom cloud of steam filled Buu's field of vision. The demon was certain that had put an end to his muscular doppelganger.

The demon was stunned however when 1 suddenly leaped out of the water behind him and fired a decent sized sphere of white energy that took off the Majin's head.

The headless body of Buu searched the space above his neck blindly before grabbing the top of collar and pulling out a new cranium from seemingly nowhere. The pink menace slowly turned around to face his opponent, a frown on his face.

"You good at fighting. Why you have to be so mean? Buu want to play with you and not worry about making you dead like with all other people," Buu slightly whined, wishing this were more of a game than the serious business it was.

"I have no will of my own. Truly I do not want to kill, but I have no choice," the android answered simply, Buu scratching his chin in thought.

"But… what if Buu find will for you? Then we can play?"

The Majin before him was only making matters worse for one. It was like fighting a child or sick puppy, but not be able to stop. This creature before him was something of pure, unadulterated innocence, and he had to kill it.

"I apologize, but the will I speak of is not a tangible possession. I must carry through my objectives."

"Really? That sad. You not so bad. Buu tell by fighting you," Majin Buu declared with a smile. With no words left between them, the two immortal beings entered the fray once more, disappearing and reappearing at random points in the sky as their fists and shins collided in a cacophonous battle that shook the heavens to their core.

* * *

Vegeta looked upon the duo, arms folded as they battled with greater and greater intensity. "Buu must not realize it, but it seems every time he comes into contact with that thing, some of his energy is stolen. I'll need to finish this quickly."

The prince grinned as he unfolded his arms, entering a squatting position and concentrating on gathering the necessary energy to exact his plan. "I wonder Kakarot, if you had lived, which of us would have won in a battle…" the prince growled loudly as his veins became filled with energy. "…between **two** Super Saiyan 3's?!"

Vegeta screamed at the heavens, his voice being carried throughout a large portion of the planet, clouds slowly being brought towards his shining form as electricity now coursed around his form, transforming into the Super Saiyan 2 state, causing him to jump in height as he bulked up.

* * *

"Wh-what?! No way!" Krillin declared as he sensed Vegeta's energy sky rocket in an all too familiar fashion, hardly able to stay standing from the sudden surge of power, all the other Z-Fighters just as awe-struck, save Piccolo who merely smirked.

"So, that's what you were doing all that time in space, huh Vegeta?" the Namekian said with a slight laugh. The prince had left many months ago into the vastness of space so as to complete some private training, swearing that he would come back stronger than ever before. It seemed as though Vegeta had indeed done so. "We might just win after all."

* * *

"You better show him what it means to mess with us Vegeta… Give him one for me!" Bulma murmured as she looked off into the distance, hoping her son would return soon.

"Goten, do you feel that?" Trunks asked as he looked once more at the battlefield where the two immortals and Saiyan were.

"Are you kidding? I think even Hercule could feel that…" Goten responded, mouth agape. "Is that really your dad?" the teen asked, turning to his friend who smiled in response.

"Hmph. Never underestimate the Prince of all Saiyans I guess." The pair hung in the air a few moments longer, staring, before resuming their flight path and certain everything would be back to normal in no time.

* * *

The prince's throat was filled with a low growl as power began to enter his veins once more, but this time the energy was far more dense and potent. The energy began to envelop him as Vegeta's growl continued to get louder and sweat poured from his forehead.

Finally, when his lungs could bear it no more, the Saiyan began to scream, his cry of exertion reaching far and wide as his energy went through the ceiling at an alarming rate, breaking limit after known limit and sending shockwaves throughout the Earth, his signal now sensible even at the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

* * *

"There they go again," complained Old Kai as he scratched his chin after being rudely awakened from his nap by a powerful surge of energy once more. "I swear, all day energy signals have been coming from Earth like a light switch going on and off. Grr…. I'm trying to sleep here you know!" the elderly immortal yelled in the direction of Earth.

"It is odd, isn't it?" Kibitokai chimed in with a worried glance, sitting cross-legged on the green grass of the World of the Kais. "And what's even stranger is that Goku's energy signature isn't even on Earth, or Gohan's… you don't think…"

"Peh! As if anyone could kill a Super Saiyan 3 and the Guardian of The Kais! I've seen things in my time boy, but not something as strong as those Saiyans! I'm sure they're just playing a prank on us." The old coot declared and again curled up into a ball so as to return to sleep.

"If you say so, sir…" the Supreme Kai declared with some worry in his voice, looking at Earth one more time before returning to his meditation.

* * *

The Earth began to tremble as raw power spilled over its continents and cities, screaming citizens running in fear from debris and shattered glass fell from buildings as a result of the sudden earthquakes and tremors rocking the planet's core.

1 and Buu struggled to hold their ground as the winds produced pushed their bodies away from Vegeta's shining form, his screams seeming to only grow louder and scratchier with each passing second.

Down below the waves crashed and formed once again thanks to the displaced water from the prince's power increase. Beneath the waters, aquatic life swam for any cover they could find away from this enormous pressure currently pushing down on them.

In the epicentre of all the destruction stood a screaming Vegeta, his painful transformation seeming to occur in slow motion. With every passing second, he could feel his veins fill with raw power to the point he was certain they would burst as his lungs and voice box were put to the test once more.

The first time he had achieved this transformation was only a few months ago, deep within the bowels of unchartered space so as to focus without any distractions and keep any habitable planet from destruction. The prince had spent hours upon mind-numbing hours in a meditative state, searching within himself for the reservoir of power he could feel just beyond the tip of Super Saiyan 2. The prince had only gone this deep into a trance once before, when learning to control his Oozaru form. But this was beyond even that level of difficulty.

Just as the Super Saiyan was about to call it quits for the day, he felt his mind brush against something right in between the mental 'switches' for his Super Saiyan 2 and Great Ape forms. Cautiously reaching in between the two, he felt a wall shatter within his mind as the power suddenly burst forward, seeming to try and embrace and attack Vegeta at the same time, and the prince welcomed it with open arms.

However, as soon as the power came, it seemed to disappear back into the chasms of his mind, like some dog who realized it was about to be punished and now tried to find sanctuary. Vegeta would have none of it.

Instead of pulling the power up kicking and screaming to the surface, Vegeta did the exact opposite. The prince moved under the power and **pushed** it kicking and screaming to the surface. It felt angry and violent as soon as he touched it. Vegeta was certain him and this new power would get along just fine.

When the prince opened his eyes, he was more than pleased with the results.

Things were different though this time. Unlike in space where his mind and body had to be detached so as to properly find the key to unlocking the form, Vegeta had felt little to no pain during the transformation

The prince could now however feel every hair follicle lengthen, every muscle bulge abnormally, his eyebrows slowly fade away as his forehead jutted out and several new vertebrae slowly grow into existence so as to support Vegeta's new height. It was surreal and unbelievably painful at the same time

On the outside, the change suddenly accelerated exponentially, Vegeta's biceps ballooning once more and his hair a long, spiky mess that reached to the base of his spine while his power level took one final leap.

With a concluding scream, the winds blasted out once more before calming down slowly until the normal breeze had returned to the area and the waters below returned to their usual flow. In the skies above, thick dark clouds hung with flashes of lightning occurring every few moments as if signaling something important.

Vegeta opened his now green eyes to this scene with a smile, finding that Buu was currently uncovering his eyes as they adjusted to Vegeta's new violent, golden aura complete with streaks of electricity. The prince flexed his hand a few times, finding that his clothes had now been bathed in the light of his aura and seemed darker in color

"So then, Android 1 was it?" Vegeta asked with a smirk, the machine remaining in an uneasy stance as the prince looked upon him. "What do you say we start the fourth and final round?"

* * *

"That's just… incredible…" Yamcha said with his mouth open in shock. "No matter how many times a Saiyan does that, I don't think I'll ever be used to it."

"You're telling me. But Vegeta seems to be even stronger than when Goku transformed. Must've been all that time he spent training." Krillin replied with a smile, certain that today would just be a bad mark on his calendar.

"They're back!" Dende suddenly shouted, pointing to the sky with delight. As the others turned their heads they were able to make out the shape of Goten and Trunks as they neared the sacred platform.

The pair landed to be greeted with warm smiles, Bulma running over to give her son a large hug and a gentle slap on the face. "Next time something like this happens, don't stick around!" the woman scolded her son, earning a downcast look and a nod.

Goten's reuniting with his family however, was less than happy. The moment he saw his mother and niece, they immediately opened up a space for him. With tears already forming in his eyes, the teen joined what remained of his immediate family in their time of depression. The remaining Z-Fighters stayed respectful and left the household to their moment.

Piccolo returned to viewing the horizon once more in deep thought. This day would definitely leave a scar on the Son family, and things would change. Whether or not this android was truly acting by himself was of great importance to the Namekian, as it meant there could be another villain somewhere in the shadows, maybe even with an army of these things!

"Wait, what's going on?!" the warrior suddenly said loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What's wrong Piccolo?" Dende asked worriedly, hurrying to his friend's side. "Did something happen? Is there another monster now?" The other Z-Fighters gathered around their ally quickly, so as to learn of this apparently worrying revelation.

"It's… Vegeta! Darn him!" the Namekian yelled, earning a gasp from everyone. "He's not attacking #1! He's just floating there, using up his stamina and waiting for him to do something!" the Namekian growled and looked off into the distance, speaking telepathically and out loud at the same time to the prince. "Vegeta! Just end it before he gets a chance to absorb more energy!"

* * *

And Vegeta would have gladly done so in one move if it weren't for a tiny detail: Buu. The prince's idiotic ally had been transfixed on Vegeta's new power ever since the change, staring at him and then doing some ridiculous dance all around the machine and getting in the way of his attack! The pudgy demon simply floated around 1, clapping and chanting, "He gonna beat you up! He gonna beat you up!" over and over again.

Getting caught up in the excitement of the moment, Majin Buu appeared directly in front of the android, bent over and blew the machine a big raspberry with his eyes closed. As a result, the Majin didn't see it coming.

An ivory hand suddenly latched onto Buu's cranium with a vice-like grip. "Power absorption at 100% percent speed." The machine declared with his monotone voice.

"No!" Vegeta yelled in defiance, raising his arm and firing hundreds of golden blasts, not caring if Buu was hit anymore; the tub of lard would just have to be wished back with everyone else!

It was of no use however, for every blast that went through, a wound was healed at a quickening pace as new energy entered 1's body at an escalating speed. Buu however was experiencing an opposite effect. Slowly, his consciousness left him and his view became murkier and murkier while more energy exited his body. The monster struggled with every ounce of waning strength he had, trying to remove the android's hand from his forehead, only to lose more power in the process.

Vegeta managed to get a lucky hit in however, blasting off the machine's wrist, only for 1's other hand to pop out of seemingly nowhere and grab onto Buu's arm. The pudgy menace finally ceased his struggling when his eyes could no longer remain open. Slowly, Buu's outer layer changed from its normally happy pink to a dull grey as his cells were drained dry of every last drop of energy.

The machine finally let go, letting the monster fall to the ocean below only for his grey corpse to turn to ash and blow into the wind midway silently. Buu's cape, gloves and boots crashing into the ocean with a small splash as they slowly sank into the blue waters.

* * *

Back on The Lookout, Uub suddenly jutted up with an ear scathing scream. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! AAAAAAHHHHHH!" the boy choked out as his mind felt like it was being pummeled by ten thousand rhinos. As quickly as Uub had awakened however, he fell back to the world of slumber with sweat on his forehead.

"What was that about?" Hercule asked rhetorically, not expecting a response. Somehow however, he had a burning sensation in the bottom of his gut that this had something to do with his best friend. Hearing a quiet whimpering sound behind him, the elderly man turned around to find his equally elderly dog, Bee looking up at him with seemingly teary eyes. Kneeling down, the man began to pet the canine whilst reassuring it. "Don't worry, boy, I'm sure Buu is fine. He's invincible after all. This'll all blow over, I'm sure." The last part however was more to assure the champ than his hound.

"D-damn it." Piccolo growled, lowering his head and his fists shaking.

"No way. He… he killed Buu." Krillin said with mouth agape but staying quiet enough so that only those around him heard with the exception of Hercule.

"But Buu was invincible… he came back from almost everything…. What the heck is this guy?" Yamcha mumbled in a panicked state.

"We're going to Plan D." Piccolo simply stated, turning around and grabbing hold of Trunks' shoulder dragging the teen with him along with his complaints. "Goten, you're coming too." The Namekian commanded.

The boy looked at his family for a moment, contemplating and then slowly nodded while getting up to leave his still teary-eyed kin.

"Wh-what are you going to do with them?" Chi-Chi asked, distraught but feeling too weak to stop the Namekian.

"I just need them to invite an old friend of ours over." Piccolo replied as he and the two boys entered one of the many dark rooms of the Lookout, an eerie feeling seeming to follow them as the others watched with confusion.

* * *

The world around 1 and Vegeta became quiet as they stared each other down. 1 had finally returned to his original energy levels yet was still below Vegeta in terms of raw power, skill and experience. But the prince knew that mattered little when fighting this menace. Gohan had still been a decent amount stronger than himself with his mystic form yet the monster had managed to tire him out.

Vegeta would need to stay focused and wait for a humungous opening, so as to fire off all his energy in one attack. That would most likely be the only way to get rid of this thing for good. To do that however, he would need to fight the machine while keeping his distance, not firing unnecessary energy blasts and keep contact time with the android to a minimum, lest he gain even more energy.

This left the prince with a rather large handicap, not to his liking.

"Hear me now machine," Vegeta began with his husky voice. "Today you have stolen the lives of my rival and two of my allies, as well as putting the peace we have long sought for at risk. Normally I would relish any challenge, but you are no fighter. No, you are an abomination upon this world. You fight without honour or glory, without any conviction even! You say you're not doing this of your own will, which means that you are truly so weak that you can't even fight an old man who told you to do something!" 1 remained silent throughout the speech, searching for a moment where Vegeta might let his guard down but listening at the same time, the words hitting harder than Vegeta knew.

"You and your pathetic android kind are a plague upon this world, wanting to only destroy and kill, and I've had more than enough of it." Vegeta's eyes narrowed as his power jumped for a moment. "Today I will end Gero's line of creations once and for all! Once I'm done with you, I'll go find the fool's blasted lab and wipe every last molecule of it off the face of the Earth."

The world shook once more as the beings stared one another down while the sky seemed to grow even darker, each ready to end it at a moment's notice. 1 however seemed to have something to say.

"It is true that my level of power and will is below average, or 'weak' as you say, but do not speak ill of my creator. He has had no part in my change of programming. I apologize for all I have done and will do today, however you should be informed that Android 20, not Dr. Gero, is responsible for all that has occurred." With his message over, the machine watched Vegeta's reaction, only to be surprised when the prince smiled.

"I never was one for mind games, but I thought you would at least try. No more words. I'm going to send you to the scrap pile where you belong."

With no more disputes left to say between each other, the battle finally began. The beings crossed the space between each other in a blink of an eye, their fists meeting in the middle with a cacophonous shockwave following, ripples of energy were sent across the Earth as a strike of lightning flashed behind them.

Vegeta suddenly pulled back and performed a cartwheel kick to the machine's chin with pinpoint accuracy, sending 1 flying off into the sky. Taking aim, the prince fired off a series of small but powerful yellow blasts that crashed into the machine's form with a resounding explosion that lit up the sky.

1 was quick to recover however and came soaring back down at the prince with his fist reared back. The machine's punch met Vegeta's block in the form of his arms crossed over his chest in an X shape. The prince unexpectedly dropped his guard and jumped to the side. Using the android's momentum, Vegeta grabbed the machine's arm as he flew forward and tossed him towards the horizon.

Not letting 1 get too far, Vegeta appeared ahead of 1's flight trajectory and landed a solid kick on his back, sending the machine tumbling downwards.

Android 1 however turned abruptly, facing upwards now, and fired a large blast of energy that caught Vegeta by surprise and hit the prince in the gut hard, winding the Super Saiyan 3. Down below, 1 crashed into the waters once more, only to see a recovered Vegeta prepare an immensely large ball of energy.

Vegeta had had it with the sea continuously being used to 1's advantage, so he thought it best to remove a portion of it. With a loud growl of effort, the prince chucked the attack away from Android 1 so that he could not absorb it.

The area was suddenly filled with an ear-piercing hiss as gallons of water evaporated into the sky, adding to the already thick, black clouds. They could hold no more water vapour, and the battle grounds were suddenly bombarded with heavy water droplets from the sky.

As the water turned back to steam upon contact with his aura, Vegeta looked down to see the now uncovered soil of the ocean floor down below, a large section of the area now seemingly a barren, muddy wasteland of dead fish and sea life. Sticking out like a sore thumb stood Android 1 in the centre, looking up at Vegeta expectantly.

It seemed as though the machine was expecting some sort of follow up attack.

Vegeta would give it to him.

The prince suddenly unleashed a torrent of golden blasts upon the android below, lighting up a trail of smoke as the machine moved west as fast as possible so as to avoid the onslaught. A lucky blast hit however and 1 was abruptly covered with explosions of untold magnitude from every angle.

A large cloud of disturbed earth and steam began to form, obscuring the android from sight in a matter of moments, yet Vegeta continued to poor more energy into his rapid assault. Behind him however, a mangled Android 1 silently appeared, slowly stitching himself together automatically and moving in closer behind the Super Saiyan 3.

The machine stretched his hand out towards Vegeta's shoulder, entering his Super Saiyan 3 aura, 1's fingers only a few inches from contact when the warrior unexpectedly sensed a change in his aura and ceased his blasting, abruptly spinning around and delivering a harsh kick to 1's face, sending the android careening off into the distance.

Vegeta blasted off to follow the android, appearing above his opponent's outstretched form and prepared a punch to send him crashing into the ground below, only for 1 to catch the prince's telegraphed blow and deliver his own to Vegeta's stomach, knocking the prince back and giving the two some space.

The Super Saiyan glared angrily at his foe. His last attack had been too sloppy, and it had cost him. Vegeta had not been able to train properly in this form yet and the famous stamina drain Kakarot had spoken of was beginning to take hold.

Pushing those thoughts away, Vegeta leapt forward and distributed several well placed kicks and punches to the machine's abdomen and face, ending off his small combo with an energy blast to the face.

While the machine was dazed and in repair, Vegeta prepared one of his signature moves from close range. Putting one stiff hand before him, the prince prepared a small cobalt orb of condense ki, crackling with power. "Big Bang Attack!" Vegeta yelled and fired the ball without hesitation, the sphere sending Android 1 back a good distance yet again before the orb exploded in an explosion that shook the planet from Diablo Desert to Anembo Island and resulting in a blinding light that could be seen for a many miles around.

The light slowly died down, but 1's energy was still very prominent as far as Vegeta could tell. These attacks were getting him nowhere, and he knew it. The prince would need to deal some sort of finishing blow and soon before his stamina was sapped from him completely.

The veil of smoke finally lifted and 1 seemed to be no worse for wear, most repairs already complete. Unfortunately for Vegeta, the machine was becoming more and more certain that this fight would go to him. Unless he gave the prince some form of an opening, 1 was sure to win... but try as he might it seemed, as though he had exhausted his newly found loophole to the limit.

It seemed as though the machine wouldn't be given a chance to think things over when Vegeta came rushing in, fist reared back and screaming.

1 managed to put up a guard causing Vegeta's fist to collide with 1's forearm, sending out a gigantic shockwave and cracking the muddy land around them. The machine countered with a knee to the gut that Vegeta managed to block with his free hand and then used the elbow of his attacking arm to bash in the face of Android 1, only for the monster to move his head to the side and counter with a punch aimed at Vegeta's ribs, but the blow however did not connect and the machine's hand was forced away by Vegeta's knee.

The pair began to connect and block blows at an increasing pace, their bodies becoming blurs to the average eye as their forms streaked across the skies with explosive shockwaves being sent out every few moments when their attacks connected.

Suddenly the Earth was shaken once more as the pair's fists met midair, abruptly stalling their sky battle as they entered a stalemate.

Both pushed their fists against their opponent's as hard as they could, Vegeta growling in exertion and 1 staring back emotionlessly with his disguised optical sensors.

The prince began to realize that this machine was not only sapping away his strength with every moment of contact, but also figuring out his attack patterns little by little. Vegeta was at least lucky his gloves slowed the absorption process a tad, but it was a small help. The prince knew that every moment he remained in contact with this thing, the less his chances of victory were, he would need to end this soon.

Suddenly jumping back, Vegeta surprised the machine with a harsh kick to the face only for 1 to reply to a jab to the prince's groin, forcing the warrior back as he growled in pain and covered his fresh bruise.

Following up the harsh blow, 1 fired a blast of ivory energy from close range that managed to connect with the prince's face, scorching it and throwing up some dark smoke. Vegeta quickly flexed his aura so as to clear the smog only to find his opponent rushing at him, fist reared back. The punch was fired quickly only for Vegeta to raise his arm and block with his forearm, buckling slightly under the strain.

Refusing to show weakness the Saiyan delivered a roundhouse to the monster's chin and a heavy punch to his stomach. With the android momentarily occupied, the prince delivered tangled his fingers and brought his hands down harshly upon the machine's head with a resounding thud.

The machine was sent barreling down at Mach 1, crashing into the thick ground with tremors emerging along the ground, his crater in the middle.

Not one to waste time Vegeta prepared an energy ball as quickly as possible. Throwing the ball with a large chunk of energy, the attack hit the Earth in no time, sending out entire earthquakes, activating car alarms and shaking the planet's populace with fear once more.

The explosion could be seen from space itself with little need of increasing the picture. The heat generated by the attack reached higher than that of any fire as the dome of energy continued to extend and widen the once small crater, soon taking up the space of an entire city. The attack ended with one final explosion, for as far as the eye could see there was nothing but light and raw power.

Slowly, the heat and the energy of Vegeta's attack died down, a colossal mushroom cloud rising from the now unbelievably large basin that was now the space's predominant feature.

"Let's see… you get up from that… you piece of scrap." Vegeta said with many huffs and puffs in his voice. The prince's lungs were on fire, his arms were beginning to pain in areas without bruises and his heart seemed to be on an unstoppable drumming session. This new form was slowly killing him, he could feel it. That last attack had taken up a large portion of his energy, more than necessary most likely, but it was worth it to get the job done.

Vegeta's mouth suddenly became agape in shock however. "No! It-it can't be!" the prince declared, his hand balling into a fist and his nails digging into his palm so deep, blood began to seep through it.

1 was still very much alive, but not without being worse for wear. No one is truly indestructible, even the likes of a Majin, whether altered or not. The healing abilities, while life-saving, are extremely painful and while stamina may be limitless, power is not. To survive that last blast, 1 also had to use up a decent portion of his own energy. While he had the luxury of not feeling pain, he could tell he would most likely be screaming blue murder right now if he could.

His body was a mangled mess to say the least. 1's once bulky form was now a droopy mess, his white flesh literally dripping off his remaining arm, if you could call it that, his legs were nothing more than a puddle that now attached his abdomen to the ground and his face was pulpy mess.

Yet, his ancestral magic did its work and slowly yet surely his atoms were once again restored to their rightful place and states. It took longer than usual, but 1 was back on his feet soon enough.

"That's… that's impossible!" the Super Saiyan yelled with ferocity, not believing his eyes. The android began to walk forward slowly, apparently ready for more, when suddenly Vegeta noticed something: 1 was no longer moving smoothly and human-like, but instead his body seemed to be convulsing and stopping at some points.

Vegeta gave no smirk. This was his last chance, the attack for all the marbles. If he failed now, it was all over, his family, friends and the people of Earth, they would all die. It was his burden to stop this thing now.

The prince spread his arms, gathering crackling energy in both hands, lightning and rain beginning to up in anti as Vegeta poured more focus into his final attack. He needed to get this just right. Too much power and the planet would be destroyed, too little and 1 would just walk it off again.

Down below, 1 was giving it all, not to move, but to do the opposite in fact. He had scrapped together what tiny fractions of free will he had and forced it into his limbs, telling them to stop, give up. If Vegeta wasn't going to stop him, then Android 1 would just do it himself, and hopefully die trying.

* * *

The Lookout was now too feeling the effects of Vegeta's power, any who could sense ki struggling to not to fall over from the tremendous pressure and those who couldn't noticing a large cluster of clouds in the distance as they tried to maintain balance against the tremors on the tower.

Inside, Piccolo was sweating bullets, not having time to divert his attention to Vegeta's actions but allowed himself one mental message. 'Vegeta… you'd better know what you're doing, or else you're just doing this thing's job for it.' Breathing out deeply to calm his nerves, Piccolo turned back to Trunks and Goten, "No, no, no! Keep your fingers straight!"

"Vegeta… please be careful…" Bulma quietly mumbled to herself, falling on her knees and silently sobbing in worry.

* * *

Vegeta smirked, his attack almost ready. 'Don't worry Namekian, I've helped save the Earth before and I'll do it again… but on the off chance I fail, you know what to tell my family.' With his short message over, the prince put his game face back on, scowling at 1 who had was now seemingly slowly rising towards him.

"This is it machine! It is time you pay for what you've done! You will go to the grave a weakling and a pathetic excuse for an opponent! You toppled giants by slitting their throats when they weren't looking! But I see you here and now, and it shall be the last of it, till we meet in hell!" Vegeta brought his hands together abruptly, a large sphere of crackling, golden energy forming in moments. Taking precise aim, Vegeta prepared to end it all with one last show of fireworks.

"FINAL FLASH!" Faster than anyone could blink, the golden wall of energy streaked across the horizon, leaving a roar in its wake as it sped towards the planet, the hopes of all the Z-Fighters resting on it.

Like a train smacking into a fly, the attack struck 1 with dead accuracy, pushing the machine back down into the depths of the crater, threatening to puncture the Earth's crust, only for a screaming Vegeta to force the blast towards a ninety-degree angle, forcing it off into the horizon, the attack's speed allowing it to pass off the Earth's curvature and into the darkness of space, the Final Flash only losing its last limps of energy as it narrowly passed Pluto, its remnants sprinkling onto the planet like fairy dust.

Back on the third planet from the sun, Vegeta fell to the ground, reverting down the line of Super Saiyan transformations as he went along, pain and exhaustion consuming his body. The prince landed with two soft thuds, panting heavily but a smile on his face.

1's energy signature was nowhere to be seen, or had been reduced to such a miniscule amount that he wouldn't be a danger to even a normal human. Sighing in relaxation, the prince allowed himself to drop his smile and his guard.

But only for a moment.

Vegeta's ears jumped a familiar wooshing sound, the prince pushed himself up, doing a summersault in the air, and landed a few feet away on hand and knee, panting.

Where his face had been moments ago was now a deep hole. Occupying said hole was 1's distorted fist. Looking upwards, Vegeta found that his opponent had apparently not been killed, but had been severed clean in half. Vegeta's attempts to save the planet had cost him, as apparently the job had only been half done, which in this case meant nothing.

Moments prior, when hit with the Final Flash, the force had been so great it had knocked 1 back upon first contact and smashed into him a second time after his body had been sent spinning, landing on the machine's form when it was parallel to the attack instead of facing it head on like originally planned.

His power also had not dropped due to the fact he had no time to use any of it, the remaining energy of Vegeta's attack had merely masked his own energy signal momentarily.

Vegeta, of course, knew none of this. All he knew, was that his life would most likely end very soon, evidenced by the fact that 1 had already repaired most of the damage, the monster's fist already back to normal.

'Bulma… Trunks… Bra…' Vegeta began in his mind, slowly forcing himself up and hoping his family would somehow hear him. 'I won't be coming back, at least I don't think so. I've lived a good life, and you've all made it that much better… thank you for all that you've done, and goodbye.'

With his message over, Vegeta forced himself back into the Super Saiyan 3 form, the pain unbelievably excruciating... but he didn't care; he was going to die, so he might as well end it in a form that showed his success as a warrior.

The prince rushed forward with a fist reared back, screaming his final scream.

1 didn't want to do it, but his programming as usual didn't care. The android grabbed Vegeta's hand harshly and threw the Saiyan into the ground with a vulgar smash, rocks being thrown up.

It was clear that Vegeta had lost far too much power to put up a challenge anymore, even in his highest form. But that didn't faze him. The prince reached out of his crater, grabbing hold of 1's wrist as he hard as he could. "Get your hands off me, you pathetic excuse for a piece of toilet paper."

As a response, Vegeta was smashed into another piece of land harshly, this time the taste of metal entering his mouth. With little time to recover, Vegeta was smashed once more, this time held by the leg.

Again and again, over and over the Saiyan's body was tossed around like a rag doll, each blow knocking off more of Vegeta's life force and his mind becoming murkier as blood began to pour from a cut on his forehead.

Suddenly Vegeta felt the back of his head being grabbed, his face now being pummeled into the soil of the gigantic crater he had created.

Little by little, Vegeta saw his life flash before his eyes, one image for every bash in the head. He had indeed changed, going from a ruthless space pirate and mass murderer to a loving yet strict father and husband. Fate may had given him a good hand for all his misdeeds, but now it appeared fate wanted its payment.

Vegeta, the Prince of All Saiyans, died once more on the same day as his rival and his rival's son. He had fought to the bitter bloody end, even when his lungs had been punctured and his face a gory mess. His body was left not too far from Gohan's, his attack barely missing the man's corpse. He died not a psychopath like many saw him to be, but a warrior as many less knew him to be.

* * *

His silent words within his mind were carried to a single little girl upon the Earth's highest habitable place, a final reminder to her that in her short life, she did indeed have a loving father despite what others would say.

"Daddy?"

* * *

**Q&A:**

**Q:** **Anyway, he seems to have lost a lot of power as well, so I get the feeling he won't be able to take Vegeta... and if he doesn't want to fight, then why is he coming up with clever stratagems mid-fight, like hitting Gohan with those hovering energy balls when he wasn't paying attention? Is it because of the self-preservation protocols?**

_**A: This chapter should have covered that question nicely... I hope.**_

**Q:** **Nice but are there any clues to what happens to android 1 and what's the future of Goku will he be restored was he ready when the android attacked or was he powered down and it made it seem easy for the android to kill him?**

_**A: Sorry, but I'm not going to give away all of the story. And as for 1 vs. Goku, Goku was indeed in base and 1 has a basic power level of about a regular Super Saiyan 3… so yeah.**_


	4. Overwhelmed

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon ball, Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball GT. All rights go to their respected owners.**

**Claimer: I own all original characters and plotlines.**

**Chapter 4**

**Overwhelmed**

* * *

Two rivers flowing separately. They flow smoothly apart, each with individual parts and experiences on their forked roads. Slowly they move with conviction towards a singular goal: win. Their streams now flow at the same speed, the same direction and with the same sound. The island between them ends, and the two streams join together to form a massive ocean.

"Yes! That's it! You're doing it boys! Keep it up!" Piccolo cheered on with hope as a familiar golden glow filled the Lookout. Goten and Trunks' power signatures shot up to tremendous levels, slowly morphing into one seemingly far more unstable and even more ferocious. Their bodies melded together cleanly, their muscles overlapping and hardening as their height received a small boost as well.

The female Z-Fighters held back their tears as all looked on at the centre of the Lookout as pure power poured from its innards, a seemingly primal roar of anger erupting from the heavens themselves.

Finally, the light died down and there stood the long forgotten warrior: Gotenks. The fusion was no longer a short, hyperactive ball of bulk, now being far taller with leaner muscle mass and more pronounced facial features that yielded no sense of joy or childishness, his clothing and hair seemingly the only things that remained consistent with his last appearance.

"Perfect." Piccolo began, taking in the massive amount of power before him. "Now, Gotenks I'm sure you know the situation at hand. This isn't the time for games or-"

"Where is he?" Gotenks interrupted with his duplicated voice, a scowl causing Piccolo to back away. Seconds before the fusion, Trunks had sensed his father's passing and, ever the hypocrite, he ignored his own advice and had become lost in a world of emotion. This had seemingly carried over to the fusion. Gotenks now carried not only Goten's rage but also Trunks' grief in equal measure, resulting in a sombre creation.

Piccolo was sweating bullets, the being before him seemingly ready to kill anyone no matter who they were. "He's a good deal south of where the tournament was held in a large wasteland that was once an ocean… near where Vegeta's power disappeared."

Knowing his time was short, Gotenks chose not to respond but simply kept his eyes forward and exited the dark room, light temporarily blinding his corneas as he stepped out and Piccolo moved aside. The Z-Fighters nearly gasped.

This was not the Gotenks they remembered. This incarnation of the being was far more serious, even bearing a glare on his face and seemed ready for action. Most of the group stepped back in shock, apart from Chi-Chi, Bulma and Pan. The three simply watched on in worry as the man walked forward toward the edge of the platform. Gotenks was however kind enough to send them a reassuring glance as a way of telling them, "I'll be back."

Pan suddenly beamed from ear to ear, figuring that her uncles together would surely be enough to finish the job that only one person at a time had tried to do. "Go get him Uncle Goten! Make him say sorry for hurting Grandpa and Daddy!"

The fusion didn't turn around or even smile, but gave a nod in return, ignoring his half-mothers' pleas to stop. The amalgamation suddenly noticed something however: Bra.

She was far from the other groups, crying her eyes out. To the being's knowledge she couldn't sense energy so this confused him greatly since she probably wouldn't know half of what was going on.

Assuming she had found out about her father's brutal passing through some other means, the fusion went to stand next to her. It took the girl a few moments to notice his shadow and assumed the unfamiliar shape to be that of another monster. Turning around, she was about to scream when suddenly she noticed that this man reminded her of her brother.

As tears flooded her eyes, the girl barely made out the frown on his face as he kept it to the floor, his fists shaking. "Bra."

The girl gasped in shock at the eerie sound of both Goten and Trunks speaking in perfect unison. "Bi-big brother? Is that you?" the tyke questioned but Gotenks remained silent for a few more moments, holding back his emotions and trying to seem strong for her.

"Yeah, in a way. Don't cry anymore, K? Big brother's gonna go take care of the monster, but he'll only do it if you promise to be as strong as you can… if he can't do it." Bra looked up at the creation before her. It seemed to beam off her Uncle Goten's childishness and Trunks' arrogance at the same time, even through the sombre attitude. Oddly enough, she felt compelled to trust this man.

"Uh-huh. I-I promise. But I know you can do it!" Bra said through her sniffling, Gotenks finally revealing a smile.

And a smile was all she was left with. Gotenks suddenly moved into a crouching position and blasted off towards the horizon, a supersonic explosion knocking Bra off her feet and leaving a large rut on The Lookout's tiled floor.

In less than three seconds, Gotenks had vanished completely, leaving all on the platform in utter awe of his speed.

And so the final hope of the Earth had now been sent off, each person feeling a mixture of optimism and fear. If Gotenks could not stop this menace, then they had no one left to protect them and thus the planet from total annihilation.

"Hey!" Krillin suddenly spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "Where are Tien and Chiaoutzu?"

* * *

Blood and lots of it. Once more the android's hands were tainted with the life-giving, red liquid. 1 stood not far off of Vegeta's battered corpse, the machine merely staring at his hands in the middle of the vast wasteland, not even thinking. Just staring.

The prince's body was in a horrid state. His face was a red, bulgy mess, his torso a mixture of crimson blood and black marks while his legs were bent at odd angles. Inside the corpse was a clutter of broken bones and organs, all still warm since the prince's death.

Seventy-seven times, 1 remembered. It took exactly seventy-seven repeated bashes of Vegeta's skull against the ground before his heart gave out, which seemed to be far less determined than the prince's will. But a body cannot run on will alone and Vegeta had known this all too well, having been killed before. His final thought was one of mediocre happiness and irony.

In the next life he would have all the time in eternity to fight and surpass his rival yet his time in this realm still felt unfulfilled somehow. Perhaps it was this last opponent. The machine bothered him as 1 reminded Vegeta of himself. Serving a villainous psychopath, among the last few of his kind, lost at what to do and always wanting control… if not of the universe then at least himself.

In an odd turn of events, 1 had allowed Vegeta to feel an emotion he had never truly felt in his life: sympathy. An odd parting gift from an emotionless machine, but it was the thought that counted.

1 of course knew none of this, thinking of himself as nothing more than a puppet and a murderer. The machine didn't dare move, he already knew his next target was on his way at an alarming speed. It was kind of hard to miss the enormous energy spike. This was his last hope at a sweet release. If this new opponent didn't come to stop him, 1 would be seemingly unstoppable and live eternity in torment over his actions.

It wasn't long before the machine had company again, Gotenks suddenly appearing in the sky, his white aura around him and fire in his eyes as he hung in the air, staring at the monster. For a second time that day, 1 used his energy to burn off the blood that currently resided on his palms.

The liquid quickly took a gaseous form and the machine's hands were clean once more… physically at least.

Slowly, 1 floated up to meet his steely-eyed opponent while keeping his head down in contemplation. This was it. If this new fighter couldn't stop him here, the machine would practically have free reign to kill off the remainder of his targets… and he wasn't so sure he would lose.

Although this new opponent before him was clearly a winner in power (and seemed remarkably like those two boys from earlier) that had been the case with his last two fights and he had still won. What was strange though was this beings very composition. The atoms that made up this ferocious fighter seemed to be highly unstable and would remain bonded for only thirty minutes, possibly less.

"Forgive me sir, but I did not manage to catalogue your name as of recently," 1 spoke up, finally gathering the will to speak to his opponent.

"Gotenks. My name is Gotenks," the fusion answered, his face remaining stern. "And I already know who you are… Android #1," Gotenks spoke with venom in his voice, watching the machine for any sudden movements.

"I presume you are here to attempt to annihilate me permanently?" the machine questioned, receiving a glare.

"Yeah that's right. But you'd like that wouldn't you? Some long fight to the death, so you can gloat about my fathers' deaths?!" Gotenks spat, his power and fury rising.

"No. I would not receive joy from such an act," 1 answered in monotone, but his posture seemed to drop.

"What?" the fusion asked, taken by surprise.

"I would prefer my suffering ended," 1 replied, looking up again. "I do none of this of my own will. It is my programming. I wanted nothing more than to merely exist, but not in such a way… I have not earned your respect or aid, but I ask you to… promise, I believe the word is, me something."

"And what would that be?" Gotenks said, raising an eyebrow with as his curiosity increased.

"Kill me."

"Huh?!" Gotenks backed away slightly, expecting some sort of trick, but the machine remained unmoving. This didn't make sense. An opponent who wanted to be murdered?! This outcome was unexpected and was slowly forcing Gotenks to look the situation more deeply as 1 continued.

"No more. I wish for no more killing," 1 explained, looking at his hands in disgust. "I have killed but three people, and I feel like a warmonger. My father did not intend this of me… it is not what I want. What existence is there for me? If I indeed complete 20's plan, what then? I have no family, certainly no friends… I am an empty shell of data and programming… with no will and unable to defy an old man." The machine was now merely repeating Vegeta's words in his head, each syllable bringing him closer to beyond the edges of despair.

"Please…Gotenks." 1 looked up with his fists clenched and his posture normal once more. "Deactivate me. I do not care how, whether it be 'painful', although I cannot feel it, and slow, or painless and quick, merely end it… do for me, what I cannot."

The fusion hung in the air, his eyes still unwavering and as condescending as ever as he looked upon the sullen creation. His objective was in line with 1's request, but now who was he really doing this for? For his fathers and their pride? For his two halves and their revenge? Or for this abomination before him?

It shouldn't have truly mattered, but the naivety of Goten and the always thinking part of Trunks were coming together, forming a glimpse of hope for the android. There was clearly goodness in him, he just needed help in getting control over himself.

It seemed as though 1's speech had had the opposite wanted affect, as now Gotenks was no longer fired up and ready to kill, but rather morally confused over what to do. Should he risk the fate of a planet and give this creature a chance, or just end it all and live with the guilt?

Coming to a decision, Gotenks finally answered. "I would like to give you a chance at redemption… it would be what Goku would do… but you've killed too many and all of them too close." Taking in a deep breath, the fusion prepared himself for something he hadn't done in a long time. "I promise you, I will kill you."

At those words, 1 felt a strange, new sensation throughout his body. Hope perhaps?

"But remember," the fusion began as he entered a squatting position, his arms at his sides and his fists clenched. "You asked for it!" Gotenks closed his eyes momentarily, calming his mind and building up his energy slowly. Suddenly the creation's eyes sprang open along with his mouth as a terrific scream was released.

"HHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The grey clouds above them were suddenly sent away in all directions as powerful ripples of energy encompassed the landscape, the planet receiving yet another gigantic earthquake as Gotenks' power skyrocketed to and passed unprecedented levels.

1 looked on at a familiar scene as Gotenks' hair suddenly turned golden and began to quickly lengthen as his muscles ballooned and the hardened at an incredible speed, Gotenks clearly not wanting to waste any time on reaching the new form, the energy already seeming to make his molecules even more unstable.

The screaming abruptly ended, Gotenks now fiercer looking than ever before, having undergone the same changes as Vegeta except his power made the prince's seem like a candle in the wind.

Five minutes. As far as Gotenks could tell that was how long the fusion would be able to support this much power. He had to and would end it all before that. Although the fusion wanted to simply begin the fight, he couldn't help but get caught up in the all-encompassing power that was his.

He could see practically **everything** move in slow-motion, sense even the tiniest ants move about, hear the voices of all Earth's confused citizens and felt as though a mere flick of his fingers would level a mountain.

'Focus Gotenks.' The fusion scolded himself. 'You have a job to do and not a lot of time to do it in, don't get caught up in the moment!'

Looking forward, Gotenks found his opponent in a battle ready position, seemingly basic karate from the looks of it. Even if Gotenks didn't know martial arts, this was going to end very soon.

Although the machine was prepared for any and every form of assault from this opponent, his processors just couldn't keep up with the fusion's insane speed. The being seemingly vanished from existence for a few tense moments before there was a thunderous crash that even left a long crater in the ground far below them, the shockwaves bellowing across the landscape.

In the air stood Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks, his fist outstretched next to half of Android 1's body, the other half where he hit currently white chunks hanging in the air.

* * *

"Un-unbelievable!" Piccolo said in awe as he looked upon the battle in his mind's eye. Krillin slowly walked up to him, holding his head in pain from all the energy that was being thrust upon him.

"What is it Piccolo?" the monk asked, the rest of those besides them who could sense energy currently lying on the ground in agony, holding their heads as those who couldn't sense energy attended to them.

"In one punch… Gotenks destroyed half of #1's body!" the Namekian declared loudly, earning either looks of disbelief or smirks from his allies in response as they lay on the floor.

"Really? I mean, I know he's strong and all, but that means if #1 was normal he would-"

"Have been killed, yes." Piccolo finished off for Krillin.

"To think there's someone strong enough to take out someone almost as powerful as a Super Saiyan 3 in one punch… I know Gotenks is our last hope, and its only temporary and all, but I'm a little scared," the monk admitted, shuddering.

"Don't worry Krillin, for once those boys seem to have the situation under control… let's just hope that Tien and Chiaoutzu aren't going to do something stupid." The Namek looked off into the distance, beginning to truly feel worry for his missing friends. Had they been captured? Worse perhaps? Only time would tell.

* * *

The machines body quickly reformed into a singular, solid shape as Gotenks recoiled his arm, preventing 1 from taking any of his energy. The android abruptly raised his arm and prepared a white energy blast aimed at the fusion's face, only for said fusion to grab his hand, pull the machine's arm forward whereupon Gotenks nailed 1 in the elbow with his knee.

The limb was split in two in a shower of shockwaves and small blobs of the machine. Taking the initiative, Gotenks incinerated the portion on the arm he held and followed up with a brutal kick to 1's head, launching it off like golf ball on a tee.

1's head soared over the horizon as his body was suddenly pummeled from every angle, each blow ripping the machine into dozens of tiny white pieces. Gotenks remained focused as he went after every large chunk of magical flesh he could find.

The blows abruptly stopped, Gotenks realizing he was getting nowhere. The small white blobs that once made up Android 1 floated around the fusion as he eyed them with a scowl, the globules seemingly waiting to pounce on the being so as to soak up all of his massive stores of energy.

Before they could do so however, Gotenks flared his violent, golden aura with a yell, the heat obliterating even the tiniest white specs before they could move.

The boy slowly breathed in and out as his aura returned to normal. His vision was blurry, his head ached and he felt like he was swimming through a pool of glue with each movement. Gotenks looked at the muscular palm of his hand before clenching it harshly, the movement feeling sluggish.

While the Super Saiyan 3 form gave massive power, its massive drawback of syphoning stamina made it somewhat of a bad idea to use. This was taken to a whole new level when a fusion did it.

The massive amount energy used accelerated the already 'de-fusion' process, a cycle where the resulting creation could feel him/herself slowly split back into two people's, its memories, beliefs and fighting styles slowly becoming less and less clear and more contradictory.

Metamoran Fusion was sort of like weak glue between two planks, and each Super Saiyan form a running tap. Each new level of Super Saiyan forced the tap to pour out more water as the glue was forced to work harder, eventually breaking up.

In Super Saiyan 3, it wasn't just the form that used up time, it was every solitary movement and attack in the form. By his estimates, he had less than three minutes after only thirty seconds of fighting, and his opponent was now barreling back at him, 1's head having reformed his body.

"I… have no choice… but to end it all." Gotenks said panting, the strain of the form taking its toll once more. Pushing past the pain, the fusion calmed his mind, taking deep breaths as he concentrated his energy.

Android 1 meanwhile was, unfortunately, very near his goal. Gotenks seemed to have gone into a trance like state and his molecules were becoming more unstable by the second. 1 began to lose hope in this being before him. It appeared as though he would not die today after all.

Gotenks slowly gathered his remaining energy into his hands, splitting the amounts evenly and trying to maintain upmost concentration as two golden spheres of power appeared, one in each hand. The fusion's eyes suddenly sprang open and his hands were clasped together, Gotenks' fingers forming a sort of gun-like shape.

The spheres shrank and joined, coming together at the tip of Gotenks' index fingers. The volatile concentrated energy sparked and flashed with the hopes of the Z-Fighters, eager that this would end it all.

* * *

"Come on Gotenks! You can do this!" Piccolo cheered on the fusion, sweating in pints.

* * *

"Victory Cannon!" With a yell to the heavens, the planet shook seemingly one final time as an earthquake to end all earthquakes erupted below the bullet shaped blast of energy that now seemingly took up the space of ten skyscrapers! The energy blast neared 1, gaining speed as it moved forward like a colossal train, ready to swallow up the dreaded monster.

If only it were aimed right.

In the final moments before firing, the toll of Super Saiyan 3 had been too much for Gotenks, his eyes seeing doubles, and he had pointed their final hope at the wrong double, one far below his true target. All was lost as the attack now loomed towards civilization, already having missed Android 1 by miles, to everyone's displeasure.

The android, against his will, barrelled forwards towards a resigned Gotenks, the being having lost any chance of victory and the fusion now in its last few moments, already having forced Gotenks back to his base form.

The machine reared back his fist, ready to deliver a final blow. Time stood still as his pale limb moved forward, ready to take off Gotenks' head, leaving nothing in his way. That was what he thought, at least until his energy scanners picked up another enormous spike.

"Tri-Beam HAH!"

The yell echoed throughout the landscape, its source seemingly unknown. 1 stopped in his tracks, but not out of his own will. The machine's body had been glued to the air as he felt an enormous heat behind him.

Turning around, the machine watched as the Tri-Beam smacked into Gotenks' seemingly failed attack, forcing it back up and directly at the constricted Android 1.

Struggle as he might, the machine was trapped as the ball of pure, raw energy was forced towards him at an alarming speed, seeming more like the headlight of a giant locomotive.

Gotenks stared on in awe, not believing that they might have actually won!

"Move out of the way! Now!" the same voice from before yelled, bringing Gotenks back to reality as the fusion suddenly ran out.

Both Goten and Trunks took a moment to gather their senses before realizing the situation again. Not needing to be told twice, the two burst into their Super Saiyan forms and rocketed away at opposite directions, already feeling the heat of the attack.

1 meanwhile was feeling the true heat of the Victory Canon, the raw heat generated slowly melting away at his synthetic skin, his processors all bursting from overload, his head already ablaze from the attack's pure power alone.

1, in his short life, had nothing but regrets, yet embraced the fate before him, although his body still struggled. Perhaps, he thought, fate would be a tad kinder in the next world and give him a chance to properly apologize to his victims before his punishment began.

The blast finally struck, atom after atom being wiped away as 1 was stripped of his very being, only wishing he could smile at that moment. In the very centre of the attack however, 1 was overwhelmed by a feeling of dread.

He would never get to tell anyone however, as the attack reached its max capacity and erupted in an enormous explosion that hung in the sky, its radius covering the span of the entire country, blocking out the sun's rays as the ground below split apart, tremors moving across the once ocean floor and causing buildings to crumble, cars to topple and forests to be split in half as all the planet's inhabitants cowered in fear and confusion.

For a full minute, the Earth endured what many thought would surpass its capabilities. But the planet was a tough old bird to say the least, enduring the stress and keeping casualties to a minimum, both human and animal.

Finally, the shaking ended and after a short time, the smoke in the sky gave way, letting the sun shine through.

It seemed as though a collective sigh was taken around the world by each and every person. The apocalypse was over.

The spirit of Android 1 could no longer be felt.


End file.
